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Contents:
News & features 3-56 Whasson? (events) 6-17
57
58-59 Puzzles 60-61, 86
Vittles (food & drink) 62-65
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l Sunday lunch 12-3 close at 4
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Sibu finds a home at Monkey World
A tiny orangutan baby has moved in at Monkey World after his mum was unable to feed him.
Director of Monkey World Dr Alison Cronin fetched Sibu Jr, a 12-week-old, from Dublin Zoo to be hand reared at the sanctuary in Bovington.
A spokesman for the sanctuary said: “Monkey World is home to the European specialist orangutan crèche for orphaned and rejected infants, which aims to break cycle of abandonment and help female orangutans rear their own young in future.
“Orangutans have the longest childhood of any primate apart from humans, and as they are semi-solitary in the wild, they depend upon these early years to learn everything from their mother which they
will need in adult life, including climbing, feeding and child-rearing.
“It appears when young orangutans are unable to be mother reared, they do not learn the skills to enable them to look after their own children. For the little boys like Sibu Junior, growing up in the Orangutan Nursery Crèche gives them the skills to live with women and children when they become fully mature males.”
The nursery is home to four other young orangutans born in zoos in Hungary, Germany and the UK, who were also unable to be reared by their mothers. They are now cared for by foster mother Oshine, a Bornean orangutan who was rescued from the illegal pet trade in South Africa in 2010.
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Services of remembrance to be held
Weymouth Mayor Jon Orrell will be joined by his Chaplain Neil Biles, veterans, councillors and members of the Armed Forces for a service of remembrance on Sunday, November 10.
The service will be at the Cenotaph on Weymouth Promenade from 10.55am.
At 11am, members of the Nothe Fort Garrison will fire the first cannon from the beach, signalling the start of the two-minute silence, followed by a second at 11.02am to mark the end. There will be a wreath-laying service at the Cenotaph followed by a parade along the Esplanade to the US Memorial Service where a further short wreath laying ceremony will also take place.
There will be free parking in Dorset Council operated car parks including The Swannery, Melcombe Regis or Park Street. The Esplanade from William Street to King Street will be closed to traffic from 10am until 12pm. People attending the service at Weymouth’s Cenotaph are pre-
REMEMBERING THE
FALLEN: Services will be held Sunday and Monday
warned that the cannon fire will be loud!
n The Royal British Legion Beaminster Branch Standard Bearer Dan Clark-Basten will be carrying the Standard representing Beaminster and Dorset at the Festival of Remembrance in The Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, November 9.
Meanwhile, the town will be marking Remembrance on Sunday, November 10 with a parade through the town from the fire
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
station, via the square to the church. The march sets off around 2.30pm, led by the HMS Heron Volunteer Band.
Then there will be a coffee and cake afternoon held in the Fleet Club, Fleet to raise money for the Poppy Appeal. Cash only.
On Monday, November 11 there will be a Remembrance ceremony and two minutes’ silence at the Town War Memorial at 11am.
n Commander Brigadier John Dean, Bridport Team Ministry and a range of forces, community groups, and volunteers, will parade through Bridport at 10.40am on Sunday, November 10, accompanied by the Wessex Military Band, going from East Street to the War Memorial. Wreath laying will follow, along with the mayor’s address and the Service of Remembrance in St Mary’s Church. Town Centre road closures will be in place for the parade from 10.30am until approximately 1pm.
n Train companies are giving military personnel and veterans
free rail travel for Remembrance. Serving military personnel and veterans attending services of remembrance can travel free. The offer is open to serving military personnel in uniform or in possession of a current MOD90 Ministry of Defence-issued identity card. Veterans will need to show a Veterans Railcard, Veterans Oyster card, MOD-issued Veterans ID or other appropriate proof of service. Bus operator First South is offering free travel across its bus network for all veterans and UK Armed Forces personnel travelling to Remembrance activities on Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10. On both days, the bus operator will give free bus travel across its routes in Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall to the Armed Forces community – serving troops, veterans, and cadets.
To claim the free travel, all current and former military personnel and cadets should show the driver their Armed Forces ID or wear their medals or uniform.
Mentioned in Dispatches
The Duchy of Cornwall, which has developed ‘new’ Poundbury, has been criticised for taking millions of pounds from charities, the armed forces, the NHS and schools after a TV documentary revealed the extent of its income.
Channel 4’s Dispatches programme dug into King Charles and Prince William’s income from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which earns income from more than 5,400 leases. Many of those relate to buildings in Poundbury, including Damers School and the St
John Ambulance building.
The Duchies are exempt from business taxes.
Charles will also make at least £28m from windfarms because the Duchy of Lancaster retains a feudal right to charge for cables crossing the foreshore.
View the Dispatches episode on Channel 4 on demand.
n There’s free parking for shoppers in Dorchester in Dorset Council car parks in seven dates before Christmas. Saturdays, November 9, 16, 23 and 30, December 7 and Thursday, December 12. On-street street parking is excluded. There’s also free parking in all Dorset Council car parks in Weymouth on Saturday, November 30 for the Christmas lights switch-on and Saturday, December 7 for Small Business Saturday.
Take back control of
hearing
Celebrating 5 Years in Poundbury by giving with
MY LAND: King Charles visits Poundbury last year
Whasson? (and
Let’s get your home connected. Visit wessexinternet.com today.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Fun With Flowers – a sevenweek flower arranging course –will be held 7pm-9pm at Wyke Community Hall, Chamberlaine Road, Wyke Regis, with top floral designer Denise Jones. Call 07970 460 855 or email denisejones.floraldesigner@ gmail.com
Enjoy a fabulously festive night shopping event at Goulds’ two stores in Dorchester’s South Street from 5pm-9pm. There’s up to 20% off lots of stock, double loyalty points, a welcome drink and nibbles, plus a charity raffle with five great prizes. Gouldsstores.co.uk
Wendy Lockley will be
UP. Sun 10th 4pm THE RUM BLOSSOMS. Thurs 14th 8pm OPEN MIC WITH SI GENARO. Sat 16th 7pm KIPPER’S BIRTHDAY JAM. Sun 17th 4pm ROB DAVIS. Weds 20th 8pm JAZZ JAM. Thurs 21st 7.30pm DAVE MANNING FROM THE USA AND MATT BLACK. Sat 23rd 7pm MAMA FEELGOOD. Sun 24th 4pm EDD BLEACH & RYAN. Sat 30th 7pm ANDY GRANT’S BIRTHDAY JAM. DEC GIGS: Sun 1st 4pm NICK COLEMAN’S BIRTHDAY BASH. Sat 7th 7pm LOOK AROUND CORNERS. Sun 8th 4pm TBC. Sun 15th 4pm THAT COVERS BAND.
demonstrating some ideas for floral arrangement decorations‘The Floral Christmas Home’ at Dorchester and District Gardening Club in St George’s Church Hall, High Street, Fordington, DT1 1LB – doors open at 7.15pm. Visitors £4. Bring and buy stall, draw. All welcome. Contact: Jane on 01305 268523 or email dorchestergardening@gmail.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7
Come and meet Fabian Perez at Halo Fine Art, 6pm-8pm (11 Pope Street, Dorchester, DT1 1GW). RSVP on 01305 267061 or email info@halofineart.co.uk to secure your place.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Dorchester Arts is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a fundraising gala, with wine, food, dancing – plus amazing auction items and fabulous prizes. Since its humble beginnings at The Grove in 1984, Dorchester Arts has become the heart of Dorchester’s cultural scene, now running the Corn Exchange and presenting a diverse year-round programme of performing arts. Tickets include a glass of Cuvee, dinner with wine, an auction of exclusive items and one-of-a-kind experiences and live music and dancing with The Sessions. Book on 01305 266926 or go to dorchesterarts.org.uk
AFTERNOON TEA
Enjoying a refreshing afternoon tea in the rare ‘Devon Belle’ Pullman observation car as you steam through the spectacular Purbeck countryside.
Your refreshing and tasty afternoon tea is served by our attentive and helpful attendants dressed in pristine Pullman uniforms.
Mapperton Christmas Market
23rd & 24th November 2024
Over 100 stalls, Live Bands & Father Christmas BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW! WWW.MAPPERTON.COM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9
There’s prize bingo at Maiden Newton village hall, 2pm for a 2.30pm eyes down.
Ambassadors Big Band is in concert at Weymouth Bay Methodist Church DT4 7TH at 7.30pm. Tickets £10 in advance from Pete 01305 812637 or £12 cash on door.
Dorset County Orchestra perform at Dorchester Dorford Centre at 7.30pm The programme includes Tchaikovsky Symphony 4, Wagner's Rienzi Overture and the Mozart clarinet concerto with soloist Ivan Rogachev. Tickets on door or ticketsource. co.uk/dorset-county-orchestra
The Dorchester committee of the Children’s Society are hosting their annual coffee morning in the United Church Hall, South Street, Dorchester from 10am. Stalls of books, bric-a-brac, jewellery, homemade cake etc.
A Michaelmas Artisan and Craft Fayre will be held at Melbury Osmond Village Hall (DT2 0LU) 10am-4pm., just off the A37. 20 stalls, free parking and entry. Refreshments.
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club seven-mile walk from Maiden Newton. Info on 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
A Christmas Craft Fayre will be held at Weymouth Bay Methodist Church (DT4 7TH) 10am-2pm. Craft stalls, drinks, cakes, bacon butties. Free entry. In aid of Weymouth Food Bank.
A lunchtime concert will be held in St Peter’s Church Dorchester 12.30pm-1pm. Iris
Lam (soprano) and Rob Taylor (piano). Free.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Dorset Cottage Garden Society meets at Puddletown Village Hall at 2pm fto hear from speaker Sally Nex on A Rogue’s Gallery for Gardeners. Guests welcome £5. Raffle and refreshments
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11
James Porter will talk of Jersey in Wartime to Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild at 2pm in Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury, DT1 3DF. Visitors very welcome (£3). Enquiries 01305 832857.
The Somerset and Dorset Family History Society’s West Dorset Group will meet at Loders Village Hall at 2pm to hear about ‘The Big Red One’ First Infantry Division: 16th Infantry Regiment in West Dorset 80 years ago. All welcome. Visitors £3. More info jferentzi@aol.com
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12
Weymouth Art Group will be holding their annual exhibition at Southill Community Centre from 10am-4pm. Paintings in all mediums will be on show. Browse or buy and enjoy free refreshments. New members are welcome to join this group, which meets on Tuesday mornings 9am-noon. Admission £2. Beginners to experienced. Not a teaching group though they occasionally have a visit from a professional artist for a demo/workshop. Bring your own equipment. Just turn up or email carol.morrison7@icloud.com
Weymouth Camera Club meets on a Tuesday evening at the Ct’d next page
10 High West St, Dorchester, DT1 1UJ ( 01305 262019
Sherborne Book Fair
Centenary Club (DT4 7BG) 7.30pm-10pm. Small friendly club with talks from successful photographers about techniques, image manipulation and members’ workshops or photography competitions. Pop in, or email Mick Rose mickrose163@sky.com
The Lyme Regis Society will enjoy a talk on Hogchester & Roman Villa at Holcombe by Audrey Standhaft at 2pm at Woodmead Halls, Hill Road, DT7 3PG. All welcome, visitors £3. lymeregissociety.org.uk
The Royal British Legion’s Dorchester Branch will be holding a meet and greet social event for members and veterans 11am to 1pm (or whenever the conversation stops) at The Junction Hotel, Great Western Road, DT1 1UF. Email Carol Lewis at: DorchesterDorset. Chairman@RBL.Community
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
Bridport Camera Club presents a talk online by Stephen McNally: 'Photo Montage Cubism' 7pm for 7.30 start. Inspired by David Hockney’s photomontage work, Joiners Art, and by Lowry,
Visitors welcome for £5. Book at bridportcameraclub.co.uk
Loders Local History Group will hold its AGM at 7.30pm followed by a talk on The Legendary Cider Secrets Of Loders at the village hall, DT6 3SA. Speaker Liz Copas said: “As a cider enthusiast I was intrigued by the suggestion that Dorset was the first place that cider was made in England. Was this possible? The French connections, from the early Celtic traders from the far east via the Atlantic Arc, to the cider making monks of Loders priory pre-
conquest and, with the help of a little apple DNA science, it seems that Loders was where it all began.” All welcome, £3.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Sherborne & District Gardeners’ Association will meet at the Digby Hall, Hound Street at 2.30pm to hear from Steve Jeffries on conifers. Conifers have had a lot of bad press. Here are the good ones. Non-members £3. Contact Richard Newcombe on 01935 389375.
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Whasson? (and where’s it to?)
The Royal British Legion’s Dorchester Branch will be meeting at 7pm at The Dorford Centre, DT1 1RR. Email Carol Lewis at DorchesterDorset. Chairman@RBL.Community
A talk on the Birds of Costa Rica by Mike Morse will be held at 2.30pm in the WI Hall, North St, Bridport. Entry is or £4 for Friends of Millennium Green.
Courtlye Musick, joined by actor and singer Scott Free, transport you back to the time of Shakespeare with a concert of music and readings at 7.30pm at Athelhampton House. A unique opportunity to experience the magic of Shakespeare's world brought to life through music and storytelling. Limited capacity: bookings at dorchesterarts.org.uk
Plant Heritage Dorset is hosting a talk at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester DT1 1RR, 7pm for 7.30pm, on habitat creations for butterflies, people and animals. Renowned butterfly expert and Dorset entrepreneur Clive Farrell, who has an extensive wildlifefriendly estate near Sherborne, has featured in many magazines and Sunday supplements. Visitors welcome at £5.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
The Berkeley Ensemble will perform at Bridport Arts Centre at 11.30am (tickets £14 on 01308 424901) and Ilminster Arts Centre at 7.30pm, then tomorrow (16th at The Dance House in Crewkerne at 7.30pm. Ilminster and Crewkerne tickets £18 from concertsinthewest.org/ how-to-book
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
The Sherborne Singers will be in concert at St Osmund’s Church in Melbury Osmond at 7.30pm, with Musical Allsorts: a concert of choral and vocal music. Doors 7pm, tickets £10 inc refreshments: margbone@hotmail.com or on the door.
Frampton will be holding a Christmas craft fayre from 10.30am-3pm in the village hall (DT2 9NF). Light lunches and refreshments available.
Sherborne Book Fair, featuring secondhand books, maps and printed ephemera, will be held 9.30am-4pm at the Digby Memorial Church Hall, Digby Road, DT9 3NL.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
The WDM’s baking columnist Lizzie Baking Bird is having a Christmas Tasting at the Old Ship Inn, Upwey, 12pm-4pm. Have a cup of mulled juice and plenty to try, buy or order.
Meet Mat Follas Mure Liqueurs, Jenna with Tulips and Cactus, Pear Tree Produce with preserves and pottery, cheese and more.
A coffee morning will be held at All Saints church Wyke Regis, 10am-noon. All welcome for cakes, books, Fairtrade stall.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Sherborne Historical Society will hear from Dr Russ Foster on Waterloo Remembered: celebration, commemoration & commercialisation since 1815, at 8pm in Digby Hall, Hound Street. Members free, visitors £5. sherbornehistoricalsociety.co.uk
Writing For Pleasure Weymouth is an informal group meeting monthly to try their hand at writing a short piece on a prompt. Efforts are then shared and discussed light heartedly. Poetry or prose, funny or sad. Contact Jayne 01305 786802.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20
TV valuer Paul Atterbury will be giving a talk on The Making of a Dorset Garden followed by a Q&A session to raise funds for Relate Dorset and South Wiltshire 7pm-9pm at Relate, 2 Poundbury Business Centre, Middle Farm Way, DT1 3WA. Tickets £20 inc glass of wine. Call 01305 257206.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21
The New Arts Group will be hosting a talk on The Queen of Sheba: Empress or Enigma with speaker Chris Bradley at Bridport Town Hall from 1.30pm for a 2pm start. £10.
Weymouth Civic Society will
hear a talk on Weymouth Heritage Trail by Graham Perry at Pilgrim House in Hope Square at 7pm, with refreshments from 6.30pm. Free, just turn up. weymouthcivicsociety.org
Goulds Garden Centre, in Littlemoor Road, Weymouth, is holding a late night shopping event 5.30pm-9pm, with fantastic discounts on Christmas trees, decorations, and more. There’s a welcome drink and mince pies, a charity raffle with five fantastic prizes and tastings of festive treats. You can even enjoy a super early two-course Christmas meal – call 01305 836031 to book.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Duncan Honeybourne will play at 7pm at St Nicholas Church Abbotsbury. A Virginal Recital, the program includes pieces by Bach, William Byrd and Gordon Jacobs Suite for the Virginal. Tickets from ticketsource.co.uk/trpopgyx or on the door.
Royal British Legion, Dorchester
Branch: An evening with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Learn more about its work across the globe at Brownsword Hall, Pummery Square, Poundbury, DT1 3GW. Doors open 7pm. £5 cash on the door. Info from Carol Lewis at: DorchesterDorset.Chairman@R BL.Community
Wildlife, animal and portrait artist L Paul Matthews will open his studio at 23 High Street, Puddletown (DT2 8RT) today, 3pm-6pm, and Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24 10am-5.30pm. Pop in, or call 01305 848780 for more.
Christmas Cheer fundraising bingo in the Bridport Town Hall – open 7pm, eyes down 7.30pm. To donate a bingo or raffle prize, drop into the TIC.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Fundraising Friends 222 are holding a Christmas bazaar at
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Tuesday 17th: Vintage Car Club
Thursday 19th: Christmas Bingo 7.30pm
Saturday 21st: Christmas Singalong 8pm
Free uniform, PPE and DBS check Contact Lisa to have a chat on 01305 786568 or email lisa@primroselodge-weymouth.co.uk Primrose Lodge – Dorchester Road, Weymouth primroselodge-weymouth.co.uk
the Trinity Club in Dorchester, 10am-2pm. Cakes, home made preserves, tombola, pyrography, hand-painted bird boxes, fairy doors and more. In aid of Dorchester Family Support.
A Christmas Fair is being held 10am-4pm at Bryanston School near Blandford (DT11 0PX) today and tomorrow, with over 90 stands inside and out, selling food, drink, crafts and homeware gifts – the perfect place to start your Christmas shopping. Wreath making sessions each day – book at bryanston.co.uk/ christmas-wreaths
Live music, and a street food area, where you can enjoy snacks and lunches, including pizzas,
bratwurst, falafels, Indian vegan street food, Dorset lamb burgers, hot potatoes, seafood and desserts, all washed down with coffee, tea, soft drinks or glühwein. There is also lots for children to enjoy, including a Frozen-themed room, where kids can have their pictures taken with Elsa and Anya, who will be joined by Captain America and Spiderman. There’s a craft room where they can make Christmas decorations, make sand Aart pictures, or have their face painted. Parking on site and a shuttle bus every 15 minutes from Blandford Tourist Information Office starting at 9.30am and running all day. Entry is £4 or £3.50 concessions, U16 free.
The Well Beloved, the latest Thomas Hardy adaptation from the Wessex Dramas project, is being shown at The Royal Manor Theatre on Portland at 7.30pm. Tickets royalmanortheatre.co.uk
Mapperton House (DT8 3NR) is holding its huge Christmas Market, with more than 100 stalls, live bands and Father Christmas today and tomorrow Book at mapperton.com
There’s a fundraising autumn dance in aid of community organisations at Loders Village Hall. Silver Lining, rock n roll standards and 60s classics 7.30pm-10pm. Tickets £10 cash only, U12 free. Bring refreshment.
Email bogle.2@outlook.com or call Pam on 01308 424556. St Nicholas and St Laurence churches are holding a joint Christmas Fayre 10am-3pm at St Nicholas’s Broadwey (DT3 5LW), with 17 stalls, and six charity tables, tombola, raffle, cake stall, children’s Yuletide trail and a café. Free entry.
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Bothenhampton. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
There’s an autism friendly day at Monkey World, Bovington: Neurodivergent visitors and their
families can access the park at 9am, an hour before general opening, and enjoy a quieter day, with noise controls, sensory trails and a calm room. Book online at monkeyworld.org
A Choral Evensong will be held at 4.30pm in St Peter's Church Dorchester. Music by Tallis, Rose, Ives and Ireland. Free. musicatstpetersdorchester.org
A Christmas Market will be held 1pm-4pm at Norton- SubHamdon Village Hall (TA14 6SF). Lots of sellers, a wide variety of stalls, food, gifts, Christmas decorations, toiletries, jewellery, crafts and candles, home fragrances, cards, knitted items. Bagnell Farm will be there with their amazing burgers. Refreshments, a children’s room with stalls and tombolas. A grand raffle with lots of prizes.
Dorset Chamber Orchestra perform at St Mary's Church, Edward Road, Dorchester at 7.30pm. They will be playing Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and
Piano Concerto No 21, and Schumann’s Symphony No 3 Tickets £16 (£1 U18) from dorsetchamberorchestra.org or Linda Ryall on 01305 269069.
Dorchester: Dorset Museum & Art Gallery is hosting a secondhand book fair from 10am-4pm in the Victorian Hall. Alongside the museum’s bookstands, other stallholders have been invited including the Hardy Society and Nangle Books. Thousands of high-quality books available. Free entry. Donations of good quality second-hand books should be dropped at the museum by Monday, November 18.
There’s an Owl Box coffee morning at St Ann’s Schoolroom, Radipole Lane, 10am-noon, fundraising for more owl boxes in our open spaces and gardens. Includes a talk by Kevin Webb, ecologist and owl enthusiast. Entry free. Coffee, tea and homemade cakes.
Whasson? (and where’s it to?)
Dorchester TRINITY Club EVENTS
Wednesday lunchtime bingo, eyes down 2pm Fridays thrift club & meat draw
Saturday bingo, eyes down 8.30pm
Sunday bingo open 6.30pm-11pm, eyes down 8.30pm
For information contact the club on 01305 262671 or visit our Facebook page and website
WYKE WORKIES
* Nov 9th REISSUE * Nov 16th FLUKE * Nov 23rd HARDY & THE MONUMENTS * Nov 30th LOOSE CONNECTIONS * Dec 7th PERSUADERS * Dec 14th CHILL * Dec 21st BUZZ * Dec 24th DISCO FOOTBALL MATCHES SHOWN ON NEW LARGE-SCREEN TV Ct’d next page
DORCHESTER
An eclectic mix of fascinating items for sale, all with a story to tell. Food box cafe open, serving breakfasts, lunches, snacks & cakes.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK, 9AM-5.30PM AT 27 LONDON RD, DORCHESTER DT1 1NF
LIVE MUSIC THIS MONTH AT * 56 Portland Rd, Wyke Regis, DT4 9AB ( 01305 786867
We re-use, recycle and sell all useable items FAIR PRICE GUARANTEED
Quotes for clearance are offset against what I pay you for items – I could end up paying you!
Film Night: Some Like it Hot Wyke Regis Memorial Hall, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm).
1959 American crime comedy starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. Entry £6, includes glass of wine, beer or soft drink. Tickets at parishofwykeregis.org.uk/events, or Jeff Thomas on 07710 09614.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24
An indoor car boot/tabletop sale at Marston Magna Village Hall. Sellers from 10am, £5 a table. Buyers from 11am £1. Email: bookings.marstonvillagehall@gm ail.com to reserve your table.
The Occasional Singers are performing an Advent concert at 3pm St Mary’s Church, Edward Road, Dorchester DT1 2HL. Taking us from 1607 through to the present day, the songs and carols will range from contemplative to joyful. Free with retiring collection in aid of Dorchester Poverty Action.
A wheel of candles will make a spectacular finale to a day of celebrations on St Catherine’s Hill Abbotsbury. There’s an art workshop 12-3pm at Abbotsbury Village Hall, with art materials supplied, where you can decorate a candle bag for £2. Then at 3pm in St Catherine’s Chapel there will be music by Frenchay, an a capella group, followed at 3.45pm by a short service of thanksgiving and a cash collection for St Nicholas’ Church. Afterwards, you can see the hill lit up with all the decorated candle bags.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
The Bridport U3A monthly talk at 2pm in the Bridport United Church Hall, East Street, DT6 3LJ will feature Alex Leger, on Life on the Licence Fee. He had a long career at the BBC producing and directing programmes including Blue Peter
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27
Bridport Camera Club presents a talk by Alison Webber: The
Cloak of Conformity and the Corset of Expectation 7pm-10pm Bridport Town Hall DT6 3LF. Alison tells the story of the relationship between her photography and autism, how her creativity was suffocated by efforts to conform, and how, by discarding the 'cloak' and the 'corset', she can express her true identity. Proceeds to ASCape, which supports children and young adults on the autistic spectrum in Dorset. Free, but donations welcome. You can support odd socks day by dressing in an unusual manner for the evening. Register at bridportcameraclub.co.uk, where you can enter £0 or a donation.
The Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society hosts a practical demonstration ‘The Answer Lies in the Soil’ by David Usher. Handout with useful soilrelated information. Uplyme Village Hall DT7 3UY. Nonmembers £3. Doors open at 7pm for refreshments, talk starts 7.30pm. ulrhs.wordpress.com
Sherborne Science Café presents Professor Andrea Russell from Southampton University talking about batteries and fuel cells at 7.30pm at Digby Memorial Hall DT9 3NL. £3 entry on the door, no membership required. Sherbornesciencecafe.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28
Weymouth Civic Society will hear a talk on the histories of St Andrew’s Church and Rufus Castle on Portland by Johanna Roethe, Historic England architectural investigator at Pilgrim House in Hope Square at 7pm, with refreshments from 6.30pm. Free, just turn up. weymouthcivicsociety.org
South Dorset RSPB local group will hold a meeting in the Quiet Space, Poundbury DT1 3SE at 7.30pm. Richard Collier will give a travel talk on the East Coast of Australia starting at north ending at Twelve Apostles in south. Visitors £4 to include coffee and biscuits. All welcome.
BRIDPORT DISCOUNT FURNITURE STORE
Whasson? (and where’s it to?)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29
The Friends of Greenhill Gardens are holding their Amazing Christmas Cracker Quiz at Preston Village Hall, Weymouth at 7.30pm. Subject and general knowledge rounds and a joker card to double points. Teams of up to six – £14 to include light supper. Email janechandler123@hotmail.com or call 07794 631771 greenhill-gardens.co.uk
Organ recital with Duncan Honeybourne at All Saints church Wyke Regis, 7:30 pm. Music featuring All Saints’ 1884 Henry Jones organ. Entry £6, children under 16 free. Cash bar. Tickets available at parishofwykeregis.org.uk/events or Jeff Thomas on 07710 09614.
A wreath workshop will be held 10am-noon today and 11am-1pm tomorrow at 5 Crown Square, Poundbury, DT1 3EN. Cost £35 to include all materials and refreshments. Call 01305 269444 to book.
Weymouth One World Group is hosting another Quiz & Chips, with a fish & chips supper followed by a fun for all quiz. Tickets £15 includes a free entry to a Christmas hamper prize draw. 6.30pm in St Aldhelm's Church Centre, Spa Road, DT3 5EW. Teams of up to six. To book call John 07989 930223 or Mike on 07942 678730.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Open studios at Unit 1, Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport, DT6 5BP
Visit the studios of artists Ella Squirrell and Grace Crabtree, and the Ink & Page Print Room Open 10am-4pm both days.
An Advent carol service will be held at 4.30pm in St Peter’s Church Dorchester sung by University Music Bournemouth Chamber Choir. Free. musicatstpetersdorchester.org
A Christmas bazaar run by The Triangle Trust will be held at
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Little Piddle Stores Little Piddle Stores
Open seven days a week, 9am til 6pm. Fresh bread, cakes, fruit and veg and local meats. Come and enjoy a cream tea or a cake with a cuppa!
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Whasson? (and where’s it to?)
Stoke Sub Hamdon Memorial Hall (TA14 6PZ) from 1pm-4pm. Lots of tables selling lovely things, refreshments, cakes and much more. Info from Jennie Harris on 01935 881718 or David Warry on 01935 822271.
Little Green Change's free, annual, Children's Christmas Give and Take event will be held 10.30am-12.30pm, at Woodmead Halls in Lyme Regis Last year’s event rehomed 275.6kg of children's clothing, toys and books and directly benefitted 112 children, with lots more children benefiting from the free toys given to Uplyme PreSchool, Weldmar Hospicecare, and Axminster Community Primary Academy immediately after the event. You don’t have to bring anything to take anything.
Dorchester choir Encore Singers will perform at the United Church, South Street, DT1 1BY at 7.30pm. Admission is free, with a retiring collection for a local charity. A mixture of songs
from the shows, other popular pieces and some seasonal music for the run-up to Christmas. There’ll even be a chance to join in with a few of your favourites.
A Mind Body Spirit Fayre with a taste of Christmas will be held 11am-5pm at Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne DT9 3AA. Psychic mediums, tarot, therapists, stalls, tombola, free medium demonstrations. Homemade cakes served all day. Entry £1, children free.
Christmas luxury wreath making will be held at Wyke Regis Community Hall, Chamberlaine Road, with floral designer Denise Jones. £60 includes all ingredients, accessories, a demonstration and step by step hands on guidance and tools. Just rock up for a festive fun time. Festive treats and drinks included. You can use a stunning mix of luxury scented foliage, fruits, cones and a range of baubles and ribbons to add extra opulence or for a more
natural look for hessian, raffia and feathers. Call 07970 460 855 or denisejones.floraldesigner@gmail.com
Concert before the Fayre will feature Portland Coves at Wyke Regis Memorial hall in Chamberlaine Road, (DT4 9EZ) at 7.30pm. The Coves play a mix of traditional music from around the world, mostly Celtic roots. Doors open 7pm, cash bar. Tickets £10 from Ian Cox on 07966 439161 or iancoxart@yahoo.com
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1
The Hunter’s Moon Inn in Middlemarsh (DT9 5QN) is showing Christmas movies from 4pm, to get you in the festive mood and raise some money for Prostate Cancer UK. To book a table call 01963 210966.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3
Sherborne Historical Society will be holding a members' Christmas evening at 8pm at Digby Hall, Hound Street, with Prof Sam Smiles talking about
Stonehenge: Antiquaries and Artists. Visitors £5. sherbornehistoricalsociety.co.uk
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4
Bridport United Church will be holding a Christmas tree festival from today until Sunday, December 15. Mon-Thurs 10am1pm, Fri 2pm-6pm, Sat 9am-3pm and Sundays 2pm-4pm. It will also be open on Christmas Cheer day, December 4, 4pm-7pm.
Bridport Christmas Cheer will be held today, 4pm-8pm. See page 19 for details.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6
Symondsbury Mummers will be performing at Symondsbury Christmas Fair at 4.30pm.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7
There’s prize bingo at Maiden Newton village hall, 2pm for a 2.30pm eyes down.
The Hunter’s Moon Inn in Middlemarsh (DT9 5QN) is
Whasson? (and where’s it to?)
holding a Christmas karaoke from 8pm. To book a table call 01963 210966.
Plant Heritage Dorset talk at Morden Village Hall, BH20 7DT, 1.30pm for 2pm start. Visitors £5, inc refreshments. A Rogue’s Gallery for Gardeners and How to Manage Them by Sally Nex, a gifted speaker and talented horticultural journalist and writer (including BBC Gardener’s World). Seasonal refreshments, homemade cake stall, Christmas gardening gifts and quality raffle. Contact: martin.plantheritagedorset@ btinternet.com or go to plantheritagedorset.org.uk
Christmas luxury wreath making will be held at Wyke Regis Community Hall, Chamberlaine Road, with floral designer Denise Jones. £60 includes all ingredients, accessories, a demo and hands on guidance and tools. Just rock up for a festive fun time. Festive treats and drinks included. You can use a stunning mix of luxury scented foliage, fruits, cones and a range of baubles and ribbons to add extra opulence or for a more natural look for hessian, raffia and feathers. Call 07970 460 855 or denisejones.floraldesigner@gmail.com
Crossways Youth and Community Centre is holding a Christmas Fayre 9am to 1pm. £10 per pitch/table – please book via cycc@mail.com
Stanchester Quire presents A Christmas Concert by Candlelight at Holnest Church near Sherborne DT9 5PU at 7pm.
Donations welcome. Mulled wine and mince pies. Tickets from Graham 01963 210632. Limited seating, booking advisable. Proceeds 50/50 to Stanchester Quire & Friends of Holnest Church. stanchesterquire.org, friendsofholnest@gmail.com
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 4 mile walk from Lyscombe. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8
Symondsbury Mummers will be performing at White Horse, Litton Cheney at 5pm.
One Voice Choir presents ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas! at Weymouth Bay Methodist Church, 32 Melcombe Avenue, DT4 7TH at 3pm. Delightful medley of Christmas classics and festive tunes. Tickets £10 inc refreshments (under 16s free) from John Ellis 07779 772264 or cash on the door.
The Hunter’s Moon Inn in Middlemarsh (DT9 5QN) will be showing Christmas movies from 4pm. Call 01963 210966.
A free Santa’s grotto will be at Bridport WI Hall 10am until 2pm. Open to all ages. All children will receive a free gift generously donated and wrapped by Bridport’s Toymaster. To remind you of your visit a photograph will be taken by official photographer Tim Russ. To book a slot visit bridportandwestbay.co.uk or ring the Bridport TIC 01308 424801.
282 pages full of snippets, facts, place names and colour photographs Available for £22.95 +p&p online at www.downstreamdorset.co.uk www.spiral-books.com
Enjoy an evening of Christmas cheer
An evening of celebrations is planned for Bridport Christmas Cheer on Wednesday, December 4 from 4pm-8pm.
The magical evening will include the chance to vote for your favourite Christmasthemed shop windows (to vote go to bridportandwestbay.co.uk).
In Bucky Doo Square there will be carol singing by local primary schools from 3.45pm-5.15pm, then The Bridport Rock Choir singing seasonal songs. The Christmas tree lights will be switched on by Mayor Anne Rickard, at 6pm, after which there will be music by Jack Daniels.
At the Electric Palace there’s a Christmas Ballet Show by Perfect Pirouettes (5.15pm5.45pm) and a new Christmas Food and Drink Fayre, with local producers selling a tasty selection of seasonal produce. At the arts centre more than 30 arts, crafts and charity stalls will
be selling a wonderful selection of hand crafted and unique Christmas gifts. Many shops will be staying open as well as local businesses offering seasonal refreshments and the pubs and restaurants will be offering delicious food and Christmas cheer.
There’s a festive market along East, West and South Street, a funfair in South Street, balloon modelling with Strawberry Jam the Clown, Bridport Museum will be offering Christmas fun, refreshments and singing carols at 6pm and The Bridport Christian Fellowship will be serving coffee and mince pies and singing carols in East Street from 4.30pm-8pm.
Plus you can wander round The Christmas Tree Festival at Bridport United Church in East Street from 4pm-7pm.
Before the big day there’s The Christmas Cheer fundraising bingo on Friday, November 22
in the town hall – doors open 7pm, eyes down 7.30pm.
If you would like to donate a bingo or raffle prize, it would be greatly appreciated. Please drop into the Bridport TIC. Afterwards, Santa’s grotto will be at Bridport WI Hall on Sunday, December 8 10am until 2pm. Open to all ages. All children will receive a free gift generously donated and wrapped by Bridport’s Toymaster.
To book a slot visit bridport andwestbay.co.uk or ring the Bridport TIC 01308 424801
The annual Festive Front Door Competition is open to all Bridport residents. All you need to do to enter is to take a photo of your decorated front door and email with your name, address and contact details to Bridport.tic@bridport-tc.gov.uk by Friday, December 13. The winner will receive a Christmas hamper.
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Grants for grabs in prosperity bid
The third and final round of Dorset Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) grants is now open. Businesses can apply for grants between £2,000£20,000, with eligible start-ups able to apply for grants from £1,000-£5,000.
In previous rounds, Dorset Council awarded over £670,000 across 65 business support grants. Projects included: Purchase of items such as a chiropractic bench, cheese vat, theatre sets, 3D printers, a freeze-drying machine, and a bread oven. Expansions of businesses, such as a larger sawmill, welding workshop, and equipment for fitment of a new unit.
The closing date for round three applications
is November 17.
Expressions of interest for larger grants are welcome by email to UKSPF team. Businesses must be in the Dorset Council area and Defra UKREPF locality (check Defra’s Magic Map). Previous successful applicants can also apply for a new project grant (Low Carbon Dorset grant recipients are not eligible). All projects must be completed and claimed by February 16.
You must contact Dorset Council Grants – WSX Transformational Business Support for a reference number before applying online.
n Details are on the Dorset Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund page or contact sharedprosperityfund @dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Dorset Downs Natural Burial Ground is a place where timeless tranquillity and environmental sustainability intertwine. It offers a space to reflect, remember, and reconnect with nature. Get in touch to arrange a guided tour of the burial ground, or feel free to visit without making an appointment. Call us for more information 01305 564075 or visit the website dorsetnaturalburials.co.uk
It’s a moving milestone
Battens Solicitors is moving from Dorchester to new offices in Poundbury.
For 30 years Battens Solicitors has operated from its Dorchester office, building a strong reputation and trusted legal partner for many businesses and residents.
MD Ceri Stephens said: “This relocation is a significant milestone for Battens Solicitors.
“The new office space will not only allow us to grow our team but also enable us to continue delivering exceptional service to our clients in a more accessible location. We look forward to welcoming clients to our new premises and continuing to support the local community.”
Battens Poundbury joint manager Cate Barnes said: “We have enjoyed working in the heart of Dorchester, which is a beautiful historic town, and this nearby move will enable us to expand moving forward and offers improved accessibility. We can’t wait to open our doors to clients old and new.”
WOODS & TAPPER FUNERAL SERVICE
The new office will feature stateof-the-art facilities, including high quality meeting rooms and collaborative workspaces, designed to foster a productive and client-focused environment. The move to Poundbury also aligns with the firm’s sustainability goals, as the new building incorporates energyefficient technologies and sustainable practices.
n Battens Solicitors new office can be found on Pendruffle Lane, Poundbury, DT1 3WJ. For more information visit battens.co.uk
ON THE MOVE: The new offices at Poundbury
Emroiderers’ work goes on show at info centre
Yarn Barton Information Centre in Beaminster is hosting an exhibition featuring the stunning work of the Bridport Embroiderers alongside a
sparkling collection of Barry Frampton’s small woodwork craft. Pop in to the centre in Fleet Street between 9.30am and 12.30pm
Monday to Saturday. Many of the items on display would make original Christmas gifts. The exhibition runs until December 19.
Boost for legal bid to block incinerator
A legal challenge to try to stop a massive waste incinerator being built on Portland is forging ahead after donations flooded in.
Stop Portland Waste Incinerator has engaged top lawyers to fight the government after a junior minister overturned Dorset Council’s refusal of the scheme.
They have nearly raised £30,000 towards the fund for a judicial review, which law firm Leigh Day will fight on the grounds that:
n The decision does not satisfy Dorset Council’s spatial strategy and proximity principle from its Waste Plan, which highlights designated sites for waste disposal nearer to major waste generating settlements in Dorset.
n The decision contained a number of factual errors relating to proposals for a waste management facility in Canford, which it relied on for comparison with the Powerfuel Portland proposals.
As part of the decision, the Powerfuel Portland proposals were incorrectly compared to proposals for waste
management facilities in Canford and Parley, say campaigners.
The huge building and 80 metre chimney at Portland Port was refused by Dorset Council on many grounds, including the pollution, the effect on the world famous Jurassic Coast and the effect of so many HGVs accessing the site via the single road to the island.
But a junior minister – who has now stepped down from the post – said none of these issues would be a problem, and overturned the decision on behalf of the Secretary of State Angela Rayner.
Campaign leader Debbie Tulett said: “It is both devastating and frustrating to see the government’s opinion that the incinerator would do
no harm to the iconic landscape of the Isle of Portland. While it is difficult to legally challenge this aspect of their decision, we are able to take the government to task on their overlooking of planning policy. There is no robust evidence presented that justifies a waste incinerator being located at the end of a geographical cul-de-sac, with no proximity to the existing network of waste disposal in Dorset.
“The Isle of Portland is a unique place which is nationally and internationally recognised. “Visitors come to the area due to its beauty, its bracing clean air, and the peace and tranquillity of the area, as well as the nationally important heritage sites on the isle – all of which are
equally valued by its residents.
“Not only would a waste incinerator harm our unique landscape, but also our cultural heritage too.”
Leigh Day environment team solicitor Ricardo Gama said: “Our clients are very concerned that the Secretary of State has granted planning permission for a scheme which flies in the face of the carefully considered waste plan adopted by Dorset Council. They believe that Powerfuel Portland have put forward a speculative scheme in completely the wrong place. They hope the court will overturn the planning permission so the Secretary of State will be forced to reconsider the plan.”
n All donations towards the campaign are welcome –email stoppwi@gmail.com for the bank details, or post cheques payable to Stop Portland Waste Incinerator to Mrs Debbie Tulett, 20 Killicks Hill, Portland, Dorset DT5 1JW. There is also a justgiving.com page – search for Portland incinerator –however justgiving takes a percentage of donations.
A lot on the landscape with £248k lotto windfall
The Dorset National Landscape has announced the award of a grant totalling £248,811 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This funding will support the creation of a network of Nature Buddies across Dorset.
Nature Buddies are specially trained volunteers dedicated to breaking down barriers hindering individuals from engaging in nature-based activities. Whether it’s helping someone overcome a lack of confidence to venture outdoors or
assisting them in accessing transportation to reach nature-based events, Nature Buddies play an important role in aiding connections between people and nature. For more information, visit dorset-nl.org.uk
Large stock of unusual – and sometimes collectable – books in very good to fine condition Perfect Christmas presents!
If the shop appears shut,ring the bell as the owners live on the premises and will open the shop during normal business hours if they are home and it is convenient, which it normally is
Rare and secondhand books
Reading organisation needs volunteer help
Read Easy South Dorset (RESD), the organisation that helps adults learn to read, is in urgent need of a volunteer co-ordinator. “We are looking for someone with a few hours a week to spare, who ideally lives in Weymouth, and who would be willing to help us provide this invaluable service,” said RESD team leader Della Spurgin.
RESD, which is affiliated to the national Read Easy charity, offers free, one-toone coaching to anyone over the age of 18 who finds reading difficult, or who cannot read at all. Della added: ‘‘Our coordinators offer support to our team of reading coaches, and have the
flexibility as to when it is delivered.
“They are also the person who starts a new reader on their journey, so a welcoming and understanding manner is important.
‘‘We are a friendly team of volunteers, and get great satisfaction from enabling people to learn the reading skills that are so important to everyday life, and that most of us take for granted. The coordinator’s role is vital to the service, and equally satisfying for someone who likes helping others.’
n To find out more, please email Della at sdleader @readeasy.org.uk or call her on 07984 413145.
Museum scrapped after lottery blow
Plans to turn The Rectory in Weymouth into a Jurassic Coast visitor centre and museum have been scrapped after the National Lottery Heritage Fund rejected the funding bid from the Jurassic Coast Trust (JCT).
Mickey Jones CEO of DJ Property, which owns The Rectory, wanted to turn the stunning historic building into an educational hub celebrating the Jurassic Coast.
Mr Jones claims the proposed centre would have been a ‘valuable cultural asset’, enhancing Weymouth’s profile and supporting an area ‘in need of investment and regeneration’.
But the National Lottery Heritage Fund decided not to invite the JCT to apply for development stage funding.
Mr Jones said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see this opportunity slip away.
“We were fully committed to supporting JCT, offering every chance to make this project a success.”
DJ Property invested an additional £130,000 beyond the purchase price of The Rectory to refurbish and restore the building.
The windows have been replaced and work to restore the roof was expected to finish at the end of October.
Mr Jones said: “When DJ Property first engaged with JCT, it was with the shared belief that The Rectory represented an ideal opportunity to establish a museum and visitor centre that would benefit both the local community and the wider Jurassic Coast.
“This is a missed opportunity, not just for DJ Property but for the entire Weymouth community.
“It’s disheartening to see the potential of such a fantastic building go unrealised by JCT.
“However, our dedication to Weymouth and The Rectory
“Our investment in The Rectory has been significant, both financially and emotionally, and we still believe in its potential to become something truly special for Weymouth.”
Former CEO of JCT Lucy Culkin said: “JCT engaged a professional bid writer with vast experience of National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) grants to assist us in preparing our expression of interest application for capital funding.
Are you over State Pension age (66+) and on a low income? Then
remains unwavering. We are actively exploring other options to ensure this beautiful building can still serve as a valuable asset for the town.”
DJ Property remains open to collaborating with other organisations interested in creating a project that will benefit Weymouth.
“Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, we were not successful in proceeding to the next stages of the application process, which was a disappointment to us all.
“We pursued feedback from NLHF who advised that they were unlikely to fund any new museum development on the Jurassic coast at this time and were as committed to investing in existing assets.”
MUSEUM PLAN: The Rectory, formerly The Clipper, is being refurbished
Moose looking for social fundraisers
Weymouth Moose Lodge is looking for new members to join their social events and fundraising for local charities.
The lodge, on Chickerell Road, is a not-for-profit organisation and this year has raised £3,500 which has been shared between the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Weymouth Aphasia Group, Dorset Kidney Patients Association, The Veterans Hub, Tiny Troopers, Alzheimer’s Society, Young Minds and Gully's Trust.
Much of this money was raised through regular raffles, social events and the seasonal charity stall on the Esplanade.
Another important function of the group is to provide a network of support for
Moose members and their families who may themselves need a helping hand or listening ear. Alongside this there is the fun, laughter and friendship that comes from regular social events.
The Moose Lodge is a safe environment for anyone to attend especially for those of a generation who may find themselves alone and who perhaps struggle with the thought of re-joining the social scene.
Should you be interested in joining, there is currently a three-month free and temporary membership. For further details contact weymouthmoose@outlook. com or call Richard on 07966 546973.
YOU’RE WELCOME: Weymouth Moose Lodge on Chickerell Road and, inset, their current social programme
CHANGE OF USE: The former Sidney Gale Care Home
Reablement centre at former care home
Plans to develop the former Sidney Gale Care Home in Bridport as Dorset’s first reablement centre for older people have been given the go ahead.
The 60-bed centre will support residents who are discharged from hospital or recovering after a fall or illness in their own home.
The investment was agreed as part of Dorset Council’s commitment to build up to three homes for reablement and rehabilitation services across the county.
Councillor Steve Robinson, cabinet member for adult
social care, said the Sidney Gale site in Bridport was a prime location with good access to the town.
“It is close to our proposed extra care housing development, supporting our ‘ageing well in communities’ policy and has the potential for added value mixed use, additional facilities and key worker accommodation nearby.”
A planning application will come forward next year, and if successful, construction will start in early 2026 with the opening planned for 2028.
Appeal for volunteers at Chesil Youth Pride
Dorset Council is looking for support from the local community to help deliver Chesil Youth Pride 2025. Now in its third year, Chesil Youth Pride is a youth-led, family event that celebrates Dorset’s LGBTQ+ young people in Weymouth and Portland and beyond.
Dorset Council is looking for volunteers and organisations to help plan the event, and sponsors to help fund it.
Chesil Youth Pride was created after youngsters told the council they felt unsafe in their communities and that they wanted a ‘safe space’ to be themselves. Last year’s event saw over 200 young people and their family, friends, and allies attend a stall event at Weymouth College, with many going on to join a parade along the Esplanade.
Contact chesilyouthpride@ dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
We know that choosing an agency to let your property can be a big decision.
At Dorset Hideaways our experienced local team is here to make sure the whole process of letting your holiday home is as simple as possible from day one.
Why not get in touch today for a chat or request a free copy of our Property Letting Guide?
There’s bin some changes
Food and drink cartons, foil trays and sheet foil can now be placed in your household recycling bin for collection.
Cartons have been difficult to recycle in the past, because they contain foil and plastic, but now Dorset Council’s sorting facility partners can separate these cartons, which will be more convenient than the banks in car parks. They now accept empty food cartons and drinks cartons, for example soup, milk and juice in your recycling bin or box along with cardboard tubeshaped containers like curved crisps, hot chocolate and gravy granules.
Just make sure they’re
completely empty, flatten them, and if possible, pop the lids back on before placing in your recycling bin. The following foil items can be put in your recycling bin or box:
n Foil containers (pie trays, take-away dishes)
n Foil lids (yoghurts, noodles)
n Foil sheets (to cover food or wrap sandwiches)
n Confectionary foil wrappings (Easter eggs, inner wrappings of chocolate bars)
Please rinse foil trays and wipe sheet foil clean if possible. Sheet foil or wrappers should be scrunched into a ball roughly the size of a tennis ball before placing in your recycling bin. If it does not scrunch, it’s not the kind of foil that they can recycle. Some items that look like foil (crisp packets, sweet/biscuit/chocolate bar wrappers, pet food pouches) are joined with plastic or paper and cannot go in your recycling bin.
Yacht firm sold
Yacht maker Sunseeker has been bought by Miamibased investment firm Lionheart Capital and Milan-based Orienta Capital Partners. Sunseeker employs more than 2,000 people in Poole and Portland and the new owners say they intend to maintain the firm’s Dorset presence.
Social setback
A social group which has met in Bridport for more than 30 years is to close. Bridport Disabled Carers and Friends Club needed a volunteer to run it after founding member Pete Bowditch was diagnosed with stage four liver and bowel cancer. The remaining club funds of £5,335.88 will be donated to Mountjoy School.
TRACIE WILLIAMS TRACIE WILLIAMS
Developers asked to submit plans for sites
Developers are being urged to submit proposals to Dorset Council this week to transform two major sites in Weymouth.
The MFA Bowl building, which shut down in 2019, and North Quay, the former Weymouth and Portland Council offices, are the first of four sites earmarked for development – part of the regeneration scheme.
Some £19.5m of formerly Levelling Up Funding was awarded to Weymouth by the government in 2023.
Cllr Richard Biggs, Dorset Council’s cabinet member for property and assets and economic growth, said: “We have a clear vision for what regeneration in Weymouth might look like and hope that we see some strong, robust bids from developers to help us achieve that goal. We want Weymouth to be the best it can be and choosing the right
external team to work alongside us, who can offer the skills and expertise we require, is a very important part of that. The easiest option for us would be to simply sell the sites at their market values which would offer the council a significant injection of income.
“But we have a once-in-ageneration opportunity to bring improvements to Weymouth
through high quality, sustainable developments which will stimulate economic growth and bring long-lasting benefits for local people. Any plans that are brought forward must be achievable and realistic.”
He added: “This is a real milestone moment. Weymouth is already a national and international visitor destination,
offering outstanding natural heritage, sea-to-plate dining experiences and an awardwinning beach. Breathing new life into the town through regeneration will enhance those qualities and maximise further opportunities for growth.”
Locals will be asked their views, and a public consultation period should start in the new year.
Starting 22nd November until 4th January (on select dates)
Explore the enchanted route through the colourful lights. From 4.30pm to 6.45pm last entry. Limited capacity with timed entry. Free car parking. Cafe and Gift Shop open.
UP FOR DEVELOPMENT: The former bowling alley and, the former council offices site
Safety improvements will be made at the Maumbury Rings junction in Dorchester starting midJanuary.
There will be more signalcontrolled pedestrian crossing points and pavements will be widened. The busy fourway junction sees about 15,000 vehicles passing through daily, but only has one crossing.
A new section of cycleway and an advanced stop line on the uphill section of Maumbury Road will also be created.
The existing crossing point on the railway bridge will
be replaced by a new puffin crossing closer to Queens Avenue. The northbound bus stop will be moved to the other side of the Queens Avenue junction.
A guide dog owner from Dorchester said: “It’s really difficult to cross if you have low vision. I’ve had a couple of near misses there, so avoid using the crossing and walk a different route.The improvements will make the junction safer for everyone, including the students from the nearby schools who have to use the crossing.”
Work continues to upgrade town’s electricity network
Engineers and contractors from National Grid
Electricity Distribution are continuing their work to upgrade its network in Lyme Regis in a £300,000 project expected to last until early December. It is hoped some 800 customers in the town will benefit from the greater network reliability.
Project leader Jack Osborne said: “We will be updating a substation and installing new underground
cables that supply The Cobb area, as well as rerouting some other existing cables. Some of this network dates from the 1980s-90s and upgrading it will improve the security of the electricity supply for customers, reducing the likelihood of power cuts.” Cobb Road will have twoway lights from November 18 to December 6. The road will also be closed for one night in midNovember.
HONOURED:
CECA South West chair Phil Ramsden with Daniel Horne
Daniel’s industry award
Daniel Horne from Dorchester has received a prestigious industry award at a special ceremony in Torquay after self-funding a career in civil engineering construction. After starting work as a site operative Daniel retrained as a quantity surveyor and his commitment and motivation were rewarded when he was named the
Most Promising Trainee Quantity Surveyor at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) South West Young Achiever Awards, sponsored by KierBAM and Frazer. Now, he is set to join the apprenticeship degree training programme with his employer Kier Group and then progress towards chartership.
Children waiting to be adopted in Dorset
An ‘unprecedented decline’ in adoption rates across the UK means there are more children in Dorset in need of adoption than adoptive parents.
Aspire Adoption Services, the adoption agency for Dorset Council, is encouraging anybody interested in adopting, to come forward and ‘change the lives of children’. Aspire Adoption Services welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life to apply to adopt regardless of your relationship status, sexuality, gender or financial situation.
Venessa Collins, recruitment and assessment team manager
for Aspire Adoption Services, said: “I encourage anyone who has been thinking about adoption to contact our friendly team.
“We are passionate about adoption and believe all children should grow up in loving homes. We particularly want to hear from people who are wanting to parent children who are five or older and siblings.
“Children who have additional needs and ethnic minority children wait the longest for their families.”
Anyone who is considering adoption can call 0300 123 9868 for an informal chat. For more information visit aspireadoption.co.uk
Goulds Garden Centre, Littlemoor Rd, Weymouth, DT3 6AD
n Bridport Town Council is now responsible for the West Bay Discovery Centre with building ownership passed to Bridport Communities Trust. The Friends of WBDC group will continue.
n Dorset Art Girls Festive Bazaar will be held on Saturday, November 16 10am6pm and Sunday, November 17 10am-4pm at Jubilee Hall, Poundbury. Dorset Art Girls are joined by 20 Dorset artisans with lots of lovely gifts and ideas for presents and Christmas. And all under £50. In aid of Weldmar, who will also be there.
n Works on Bridport Football Club car park will be modified to meet £100,000 of project funding after tenders came in much higher than anticipated. The surface will be improved and work is set to be completed this year if the weather holds fair.
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Care South at Home’s West Dorset team provides flexible and personalised care to meet a wide range of needs. Their services include daily support, companionship, assistance with collecting prescriptions and shopping, as well as more specialised support for dementia and end-of-life care.
Receiving care in your own home can offer reassurance and help you or your loved ones maintain independence while getting the necessary support. This option is particularly useful if your caregiver is going on holiday or needs a break, ensuring that you continue to receive high-quality care and assistance in their absence. Margaret receives visits from the Care South at Home team four times a day. The support Magaret receives spans from getting her day started with personal care and the preparation of her breakfast, companionship
visits at lunchtime, through to helping her get ready for bed. She said: “I can’t speak more highly of Care South at Home’s carers. They’re absolute diamonds. She added: “In the morning, they help me to get up, washed, and dressed. They prepare my breakfast and my cup of tea. They open all the curtains and make my bed for me before they leave.
“At lunchtime, they prepare my lunch, make me a cup of tea, and do the washing up and then we
have a chat. In the evening, they help me get ready for bed and switch off the lights as they go. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
Care South is a leading provider of high quality residential and home care services across the south of England. The not-forprofit charity has home care offices covering east and west Dorset, northeast and south Somerset, as well as care homes in Dorset, north Devon, Somerset and West Sussex.
JUST MY CUP OF TEA: Margaret with carer Alison
£2m refurb on new cancer unit at DCH
Work on a £2m transformation of The Fortuneswell Unit at Dorset County Hospital is expected to finish in spring next year.
Funded by the trust and money raised from Dorset County Hospital Charity’s Chemotherapy Appeal, the refurbishment will include a revised layout with more space, better facilities and an outdoor courtyard space.
Nick Johnson, deputy chief executive officer at Dorset
County Hospital, said: “We are very pleased that work to improve our Fortuneswell Unit is underway. So many people will be affected by cancer in their lifetime, and we want to support patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment by providing them with the best possible environment. Once it’s complete, we hope that the new and improved unit will complement the fantastic care already given by our staff.”
Grants up for grabs from council for the community
Voluntary and community groups are being urged to come forward for round eight of Dorset Council’s community and culture project fund.
Applications for projects and events for community, arts, accredited museums, heritage, sport, youth, play and physical activity are now being invited.
The council says up to £5,000 is available for projects that “bring communities across Dorset together”.
Dorset Council says over the last year, more than £100,000 has been awarded from the funds to a wide range of projects across the Dorset Council area. A total of £54,625 was awarded to 14 organisations covering a range of projects, from skateboarding initiatives to theatre experiences for people with learning difficulties.
In addition, 12 grants totalling £39,879 were awarded to other projects.
Join Santa for tea as he puts on a with Holly Barwick AKA Picklebottom Elf in Ivy House during December. Expect and evening of fun and laughter some lovely food and if you have been good maybe a present from Santa himself!
Thursday 5, 12, 19 November 4:30-7pm
Head to our Head to our website to book website to book your place at your place at the party the party
n Bridport Town Council members heard about two as yet un-submitted Dorset Council plans.
The first is to replace Sidney Gale House with a recovery and rehabilitation facility, the second an ‘extra care’ housing development at the Flood Lane and Fisherman’s Arms sites off South Street. The Dorset Council presentation slides can be seen at bridport-tc.gov.uk
n Villagers in Puncknowle & Swyre, including West Bexington are being urged to complete a housing survey from Dorset Council and Dorset Community Action. The survey supports the neighbourhood plan and is for anyone with a connection to any of the three villages, businesses and landowners. The survey is open until November 25 and available at consultation.dorsetcouncil.gov .uk/housing/c4f83e29
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Beau’s Beauty & Aesthetics is a new elegant salon which has recently opened in Dorchester at Antelope Walk.
Lena, the salon owner, had previously worked in a Clarins gold salon in Wimborne before moving to Dorchester.
The high-end experienced beautician offers a wide variety of treatments and takes pride in all her work, such as eyelash extensions, nail treatments, LED therapy, BIAB/Shellac, threading/waxing, whilst her mum Helen, a registered nurse, carries out the aesthetic treatments, including antiwrinkle treatments, dermal fillers, skin boosters, and semipermanent make-up.
Helen, a registered nurse with over 25 years’ experience, many of them within ED, went and trained at an aesthetic school, based in London’s Harley
Street, and is now an advanced aesthetic practitioner.
Lena and Helen are a mother and daughter team and are both looking forward to a busy Christmas season, with special offers changing every week (check out their Facebook page).
Gift vouchers are available for that special loved one.
n Beau’s Beauty salon is open
Monday 9am-4pm, Tuesday 9am- 7pm, Wednesday 9am5pm, Thursday 9am-7pm, Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday 9am-4pm. The salon is located at 12 Antelope Walk. They are fully insured and registered with the relevant governing bodies
Go to beausbeautyandaesthetics .godaddysites.com or call 01305 549823
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER: Helen and Lena Beaulieu at Beau’s Beauty & Aesthetics
Villagers fear for historic farmland
Villagers living near a huge proposed solar farm say historic farmland will be destroyed ‘simply for financial gain’ if it gets the go ahead.
The Wyke Farm solar park would cover 175 hectares between Bradford Abbas and Thornford for 40 years, surrounded by a deer-proof fence.
The land is designated National Landscape, and previously an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). A planning officer at Dorset Council has written: “The Planning Authority conclude that the proposed development is likely to result in significant environmental impacts.”
But the company behind it, RWE, say they will create a new beauty spot, with provision for butterflies and bees and other wildlife.
Villagers in Bradford Abbas and Thornford say the solar farm will not only wreck the unspoiled countryside, and devalue their homes and their views, but along with other plans in the melting pot it could create a solid wall of industrial development from their peaceful countryside to Sherborne and Yeovil.
They have formed Wyke Against Solar on Arable (WASA), and inviting anyone concerned about the plan to a public meeting at Bradford Abbas Village Hall on November 14 at 6.30pm.
A spokesperson said: “We’re all for green energy, but without a national plan or a more nuanced solar policy,
IMPACT: The site of the
we are in danger of desecrating valued, productive arable and its surrounding countryside, nurtured and loved over years.
“Solar is the least efficient energy source, eats up loads of space and threatens one of our valuable assets - quality agricultural land.
“At Wyke, families already walk freely through this valley. Do you really want a steel fence there for at least 40 years, as well as threatening our food security? RWE are parading themselves as custodians of a landscape that is already untrammelled by steel
fencing and glass panels.”
They added: “This is why so many are angry: after more than 1,000 years, the valley would be irredeemably diminished and its historical connections placed in an industrial, not a landscape context.
“This land has thousands of years of history.
Roman Villas are in the ground, Civil War battles were
fought here and their soldiers buried here. The Duke of Wellington’s right-hand man and the discoverer of blood’s circulation both owned and walked these fields.
“King Ise gave this land to
the Bishop of Sherborne, Adelhelm, to farm in 705, and it has been farmed ever since. The land that fed the majestic barns for the Sherborne clergy, the land made famous by Thomas Hardy, now faces being ringfenced by steel mesh, concrete, glass, portacabins, CCTV cameras, mud and dead birds.”
Campaigners say that because a large amount of the land earmarked is on a south-facing slope the nearby north-facing properties in Thornford would lose their rural outlooks.
The spokesperson said: “Thornford and Bradford Abbas will become villages ‘next to the solar farm’. House prices will be devalued; not just those overlooking the site.
“Add this to Thornford’s extension East and Sherborne’s West development, then Yeovil and Sherborne become one big sprawling town. It will be a glass and steel reminder that large corporations can push into our lives like a battering ram, simply to reward a company based in Germany, shareholders in Qatar and France and the Ilchester Estate landowner in Evershot.
“The only reason for destroying farmland is financial. No calculation of the impact on the current levels of biodiversity has been offered, only scenarios built on what the developers want to build.”
Here’s how you can help support campaign
Campaigners are urging others to help them fight the proposal. People can send pledges of cash to peter.neal21@outlook.com – you will be reimbursed if the application is dropped. You can also write to parish councils in
Bradford Abbas, Yeohead & Castleton, Over Compton and Yeovil. Details on the Dorset Council website.
The spokesperson said: “Write to your MP, the chairman of RWE UK, come to our public meeting in Bradford Abbas
group
Village Hall on November 14 at 6.30pm.
“Join us on a pre-Christmas protest walk along the site path to see what they may destroy.
“Check our link on Instagram for further updates!”
SIGNIFICANT
planned solar park at Wyke Farm at Bradford Peverell and below, families enjoy the public footpaths
if solar park plan gets the go-ahead
AS IT IS: Wyke Farm today and, right, the red scribbles show other solar parks in the area
Another villager said: “This sales pitch from Savills describes the farmland as ‘good quality’ and ‘highly productive’, so it shouldn’t even be considered as a potential solar site. And given Bradford Abbas already has one at Clifton Maybank I think that’s already plenty!” Grahame Fry, writing on the village Facebook page, said: “If Wyke Farm gets approved then it would be the joint
The Rose & Crown Longburton, DT9 5PD
Under NEW MANAGEMENT
largest solar development in Dorset. The Park Farm, Gillingham Site is also a 49.9 MW scheme. The next largest, a 35 MW development, is at Clifton Farm in the almost neighbouring parish of Clifton Maybank and not much further away another Voltalia 35 MW development at Higher Stock Bridge Farm lies to the South West of Longburton. With existing built and approved schemes Dorset will soon have just short of 600 MW of solar generating capacity which based on RWE’s own publicity material will be enough to power 240,000 homes. The 2021 census records there are about 169,000 households in Dorset, so arguably we are already well provided for.”
Our Grade II listed, 500-year-old pub features a large beer garden, open fires, and a welcoming atmosphere.
l Senior citizens’ discount Wednesday lunchtimes 12pm-4pm, with a 15% discount on all food
l Sunday carvery 12pm-6pm, prices from £13.95
l Open Weds-Sat, 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-7pm
£2k of pedal power for cycling group
Care South has donated £2,000 to Cycling Without Age Weymouth so give more free rides to older people and those with reduced mobility on a specially made trishaw.
The Care South team at Maiden Castle House nominated Cycling Without Age, which was launched in 2019, to give the final amount needed to buy a second trishaw from Copenhagen costing £10,000.
Ashley Smith, Home Manager at Maiden Castle House, said: “We are proud to support Cycling Without Age Weymouth, a volunteer-led organisation that enriches the lives of the residents in our care.
“At Care South, we always look for ways to enhance the residents’ wellbeing
and Cycling Without Age Weymouth enables them to experience the joy of being outdoors with the wind blowing in their hair, while reminiscing about some of their favourite places to visit locally.
“We are so grateful to be part of this initiative, and to see the smiles it brings to the residents’ faces is
priceless.”
Cheryl Prosser, a Trustee at Cycling Without Age Weymouth, said: “A huge thank you to Care South for this donation, which means the world to us as it was the last amount needed to purchase the new trishaw.
“You can see how much joy it brings, and we aren’t
just cycling about in summer – the volunteers get people out and about all year round.
“Whether it’s ice creams and sun cream, or lovely warm blankets and hot chocolate, fresh air 365 days of the year is the order of the day when Cycling Without Age Weymouth are about.”
THANKS VERY MUCH: Care South donates £2,000 to Cycling Without Age Weymouth
Commercial property company with
By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk
There’s a very good reason why DJ Property doesn’t deal in the residential market – the emotional cost of inevitable evictions.
The firm, which owns 200 or more commercial properties, all in South Dorset, was founded by a man who knew how devastating it is to lose your home.
David Jones launched his commercial property firm DJ Contracts (Structural) Ltd in 1963, after a childhood in poverty on Portland. At one point his mother and three children were evicted from their home in Fortuneswell and squatted in a leaking home in Chiswell for five years.
But after leaving school David managed to put that behind him, becoming well known for sport, especially in his role as captain of the British Spear Fishing Team. He went on to found a commercial lettings business that these days owns more than 200 properties in South Dorset. His son Mickey, 51, joined the business aged 30 and now runs it. The experience of his father has made a lasting impression on him. He said: “If we have to turn someone out of a commercial property they can just go home. If we had to evict someone from their home they usually have nowhere else to go.”
Mickey benefited from his dad’s vision, which saw him go from erecting farm buildings to building industrial buildings and renting them out. In the early 1970s the council, which was struggling to entice businesses on to its new industrial estate, offered David a chunk of land on the former Granby Airfield – he went for it, creating the start of the Granby Industrial Estate, roads we know today as Cumberland Drive and Kemp Close. His success in developing the site enabled him to buy up more land to develop and the business grew and grew.
“Some might say he was in the right place at the right time,” said Mickey. “But others didn’t have that vision – it was dad who saw the potential and was able to encourage businesses to move here.”
Mickey achieved a place at Weymouth Grammar School, but ended up going to Millfield in Somerset, then Exeter University.
“Thanks to dad, I had the opportunity to have a good education and went on to qualify as an accountant. I worked for Grant Thornton and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“But I don’t think I was a very good accountant! They were very process driven, a massive organisation. I took a risk and joined a small start-up in Poole with six employees, which taught me how to bring a company from six to 66 employees. That was fantastic. I learned about all the elements –the insurance, the business rates, banking – everything.”
Mickey moved back to Weymouth when his father retired in 2003. Sadly, David
INVESTING IN COMMUNITY:
wasn’t around much longer to enjoy the fruits of his success. Two years after he retired he suffered a massive heart attack.
Mickey said: “Dad had all the skills to build up the business from nothing and I have all the skills to take it forward. I couldn’t have done what he did. “And he couldn’t have done what I’m doing.”
Mickey has four children, aged 23 to 15. He said: “The eldest is at University of California San Diego and he’s into mechanical engineering – it’s proper rocket science. He’s been part of a college group developing rockets and is studying robotics and AI.
“He wants to use those skills in medicine – much of the study into AI and robotics involves warfare but they can be used to help the NHS.
“My second eldest is at the University of Southern California studying finance and my youngest son works in the film industry doing sound and production. My daughter is 15 and is studying performing arts.”
With a busy family life and work life it’s proved a bit hectic
juggling everything, when the business demands so much time.
But an in-house chartered surveyor is due to start this month, freeing Mickey up from being the sole point of contact for most issues.
He said: “Commercial property is complicated these days. It’s all about compliance and having the right energy performance – we are upgrading all our properties’ energy performance and we keep the properties in the best condition we can.
“People often ask why we don’t expand to sites in Exeter or Poole or wherever. But there are enough opportunities on my doorstep. We have an advantage in what we know and who we know.”
He prides himself on the direct service they offer to their tenants.
“We help our tenants and have seen many of them go from 1,000 square foot to three or four with our help.
“We can offer economies of scale and we offer a direct service, so if tenants have a query about business rates, or an accountant, or maybe a website builder, we
Mickey Jones at Link Park and, right, a newspaper article featuring his father David Jones and views of Link Park
feel for heritage and eye on the future
know people who can help. Our tenants get straight answers.
“There are several advantages to letting through us – because we don’t use agents it’s much quicker and our service charges are much less – five per cent rather than up to 30 per cent.”
The firm currently owns Oxford Court, Link Park, Granby Court, South Park and Leanne House. They have also started to get involved in historic buildings, such as the Deheers building on the harbour, where the eBike Café has opened on the ground floor and five luxury apartments created above. The Rectory –formerly the Clipper pub – is being restored.
“The Rectory is a really unique site – a 8,500 square foot listed building. We are nearly at the stage where the scaffolding comes down and it’s going to look fantastic. We want to lease it to someone long term.
“A museum project or an art
gallery are just the sort of thing that is needed here, as it would reach the families who wouldn’t normally engage with this sort of thing. A visitor centre needs to be where people need it. You see it in sport, where they reach out to grass roots organisations to encourage people of all backgrounds to get involved.”
And there is scope for further heritage projects too –especially now Mickey has his surveyor in place. He said: “We want to invest more in character properties in South Dorset. We are part of the community and believe in what we are doing. We have the team and we have the funding to deliver. We’re a bit more emotionally invested than other developers. We want to make a profit, but we try to do the right thing for the community.”
An archive film show has been specially curated for Bridport 24 Town of Culture.
Dope, Rope and Hope: A Cine Film Celebration illustrates how the town has long been a hotspot for art and culture. It will be shown at Bridport Arts Centre at 7.30pm on Thursday, December 12 by Dorsetbased charity Windrose Rural Media Trust, which has compiled the film from its extensive archive. Tickets are £11 at bridport-arts.com/event/ dope-rope-and-hope-acine-film-celebration or on 01308 424204.
Windrose founder Trevor Bailey will be presenting the show alongside local writer Margery Hookings, a former editor of The Bridport News who now works for Windrose as a freelance project leader, and Windrose cameraman James Harrison, who has digitised so much of the collection and added to the archive with more recent films.
Margery said: “There is some terrific footage, including 1930s film of Symondsbury, the Bridport Pageant of 1953, the town’s pram derby and the 1930s melodrama, Dope Under Thorncombe,
BACK IN TIME: Bridport’s pram derby and the pageant of 1953 are featured
Where there’s rope, there’s hope: Archive film of town
set in West Bay and made by amateur filmmaker Frank Trevett, along with
more modern films made by Windrose capturing the people and scenes from this special corner of Dorset.”
Dope Under Thorncombe
included members of the Trevett family, including the late Rex Trevett, who, as head of music at Colfox School and leader of the Bridport Big Band, was such an inspiration to young people and played such a big part in forging the town’s musical legacy. Another film clip will show part of The Bridport Pageant, a medium-sized event which comprised eight episodes of the town through the ages and
involved 1,300 performers and six performances. This was impressive considering that Bridport in 1953 was only a small town of about 6,200 inhabitants.
Scenes from Bridport’s rope making past, cider making – and drinking –at Will’s Surgery in the Marshwood Vale, tales of smuggling at West Bay and a tour of Palmers Brewery will also be on the bill.
n Visit windroserural media.org for more information.
It’s high time to have your cause illuminated
Do you know a local charity that could benefit from the Jubilee Clock light up scheme? Then Weymouth Town Council would love to hear from you.
In 2025 the town council will be lighting up Weymouth’s iconic
Jubilee Clock to raise awareness for good causes with the colours that best represent the chosen charities. One charity can be represented per month, with the clock being lit for up to three days during the month. In 2024, the clockface has been
illuminated on several occasions in support of charities and awareness days nominated by the public. Nominations must be received by midday on Monday, November 11. Fill out the short survey at surveymonkey.com/r/BQ2F5H7
Take the lead and volunteer to help
Pringle has given Geoff a whole new lease of life
Retired BBC transmission
engineer Geoff Hunt’s life has been totally transformed since getting his guide dog Pringle.
Geoff, 71, from Bridport, lost the sight in one eye 11 years ago. Then eight years ago, the other eye failed within three days. It was devastating for his confidence and his mental health.
He said: “At one point I thought, what’s the point of being here?
“Even in Bridport, going through town I was frightened when I first lost my sight. I wouldn’t go in on a Wednesday or Saturday as I knew it would be busy.
“But now I go out even at night – Monday I did a talk and I wouldn’t have done that before, but now I know Pringle is going to get me home safely.
“I wouldn’t be without him –he’s made a big difference, giving me confidence to go out, go through town and go to places further afield. I went up to Bristol for my son’s graduation and walked through the streets – Pringle took me there.
“He’s introduced me to a new life going to fetes, Melplash Show, and giving talks on guide dogs.”
Geoff had to wait years for his first guide dog as covid even stopped puppy raising. But in
February 2022, Pringle arrived and immediately made a huge difference.
Geoff said: “When Pringle isn’t working he cuddles up or plays in the garden. But as soon as you put his lead and harness on he knows he’s working. He nudges my hand to say, I’m here dad.
When Pringle arrived the charity helped his guide Geoff on four main routes, into town, to West Bay, getting the bus and going along their favourite walk on the old railway track to West Bay, stopping at the Watch House for coffee along the way. “Everybody looks at the title and thinks you have to be completely blind to have a dog. But only ten per cent of people with a guide dog are blind –most have some residual sight.”
n Geoff is available for talks.
Email speakers@ guidedogs.org.uk
By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk
An army of dog lovers are needed to ensure there are enough furry helpers for sight impaired people – and you could join them.
Guide Dogs need hundreds of volunteers to welcome puppies into their homes to prepare them to help blind and sight-limited people, and they would particularly like to hear from people in West Dorset. The dogs – mostly labradors, retrievers and lab-retriever mixes with the odd German shepherd and labradoodle thrown in – are bred at Guide Dogs’ facility in Leamington Spa, ready to help blind people get around safely. There are about two million people living with sight loss in the UK and guide dogs can only work up to the age of nine or ten, before they have to be replaced, so there’s a constant need for newly trained dogs. The charity’s many ‘puppy raisers’ look after them for their first year until they start their guide dog training, teaching them basic commands and introducing them to different social environments, with essential costs covered, including food and vet bills.
Janet Tolputt has been puppy raising for the charity for ten years and has welcomed 12 puppies into her Burton Bradstock home in that time.
A puppy can be with a raiser for up to two years, so there’s the odd overlap when she has two dogs with her.
She said: “I was brought up with border collies. Then when we got married and had children I said I wanted another dog and my husband said, no way. So I got a dog…
“Muffin lived quite a long time. Then we moved here and I felt I wanted another dog and my husband said, you’ve always supported Guide Dogs – why not have a guide dog to train? I thought I’d just have the one,
then get my own dog once that was trained.
“That didn’t happen – I’ve just carried on.”
Volunteers must be over 18 and have enough space for a dog, but that’s about it for hard and fast rules – you can be working and have other pets and children, too.
In this area, there are monthly puppy training classes for the pups, at Loders village hall. Jo Kerr is on her third pup for the charity. She said: “It takes roughly a year to raise a puppy –it depends on when their first season is, if it’s a girl, and other factors. Boys are more predictable as they are neutered at a year old.”
The pups are bred as part of a programme involving a huge amount of research, where Guide Dogs try to ensure the characteristics that make a good guide are present in all the pups. They cannot always get it right, but dogs unsuited to being a guide dog are offered to other organisations – some become companions for youngsters on the autistic spectrum, as a buddy dog can often make a huge difference to them. Others might be offered as hearing dogs, or even rehomed as a family pet. Kirsteen Welch is a puppy development adviser for the area up to Bridport. She visits puppy raisers to ensure the dogs are progressing well.
She said: “We’re especially keen to hear from people who live in or near to Bridport, Lyme Regis and Beaminster.
“Being a puppy raiser is a longterm commitment but it’s exciting and very rewarding. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when the puppy you’ve looked after becomes a qualified guide dog.
“Ideally we need people who are mostly at home and can spend time with the puppy to develop and socialise them. This involves things like taking the puppy to different environments such as cafes, shops, on public transport,
PARTNERS: Geoff Hunt with Pringle
raise a guide dog pup
and other places a guide dog owner might go to. It’s not always easy but you won’t be doing it alone. We’ll provide all the training and support you need, so you’ll be well equipped to care for your puppy when they arrive.”
Jo said: “One huge benefit to puppy raising is there’s no worry about finding care for when you go away – Guide Dogs has a network of fosterers who can have the dogs, often at short notice, for a night or two weeks or whatever.
“These people don’t want to be full time puppy raisers but do enjoy having a dog.”
The dogs are given lots of outings to ensure they can cope with public transport, big groups of dogs, crowds – any situation
Help shape your town
Weymouth Civic Society is looking for someone to chair its board of trustees. This voluntary role offers you the opportunity to help shape the society’s strategy, as it works to make the town a better place to live and work. For more details email info@weymouthcivicsoc iety.org
Retirement flats planned
A planning application for a retirement living development at the JC Phillips site off South Street in Bridport has been published. The application includes 48 apartments, 25 cottages and associated facilities. Find out more at planning.dorsetcouncil. gov.uk
where they might have to stay calm and ensure their person stays safe. The whole process costs £38,110 per dog, meaning Guide Dogs has to raise nearly £60m to train the 1,500 dogs they breed a year. Even with all this, there can still be a long wait for a dog, so puppy raisers are urgently needed.
n To find out more or apply, go to guidedogs.org.uk/puppyraiser
If you can’t be a puppy raiser, there are lots more ways to support Guide Dogs, starting from just £1 a week to sponsor a dog, with regular pupdates on their progress. Larger donations can mean you are able to name a puppy, too.
n Go to guidedogs.org.uk for the options.
wessex-trailers.co.uk
DOING A GRAND JOB: Kirsteen Welsh with Guide Dog puppy raisers Janet Tolputt and Jo Kerr
Take steps to be a volunteer leader for walkers
Bridport Health Walk volunteers are seeking new leaders to offer twice weekly jaunts around parks, rivers, woods, green spaces and streets. Some 20 people already meet three times a month but with new leaders, the programme can be expanded. Walks take place every Wednesday and the first and third Thursday of each month at 9.45am, from the United Church on East Street.
After the walk, the group enjoys socialising at a local café or coffee morning.
Cllr Ryan Hope, Dorset Council’s cabinet member for customer, culture and community engagement, said: “If you love walking and want
to make a positive impact in your community, especially in Bridport, we’d love to hear from you.”
A walk leader should be welcoming and friendly, able to walk for up to an hour at a steady pace and attend a three-hour training session. The next is Wednesday, December 4.
To join a walk, simply turn up, or for more information ring 01425 480811 or email dorsethealth walks@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Give and take event ideal for Christmas
Free children’s clothing, toys and books is on offer at a ‘give and take’ event on Saturday, November 30. Little Green Change’s free, annual, Children’s Christmas Give and Take event is being held from 10.30am to12.30pm at Woodmead Halls in Lyme Regis.
Last year’s event rehomed 275.6kg of children’s clothing, toys and books and directly benefitted 112 children, with lots more children benefiting from the free toys given to Uplyme Pre-School, Weldmar Hospicecare, and Axminster Community Primary Academy immediately after the event.
The idea of the event is for people to take what they need and give what they no
longer use, extending the lifespan of items and keeping them from ending up in landfill, or from being incinerated. People do not need to bring items in order to take items, although donations of kids clothing, toys and kids books are welcome at the event and prior to the event. Everything on offer will be free.
Little Green Change’s founder and director Clare
Matheson said: “We’ve already had some kind donations from local residents including high street label clothing, a wide range of kids fiction and non-fiction books, and toy brands including Disney, Lego, Thomas the Tank Engine, Harry Potter, and more, but we're aiming to fill Woodmead Halls again this year, so further donations from generous residents are required.
“I’d like to thank Lyme Regis Town Council for their support and sponsorship, without which this event could not be possible, and Amanda Evans, recycling officer at Dorset Council, for her continuing support and assistance at our Give and Take events.”
Donations can be brought
an hour before the start time, or they can be collected by Little Green Change from the Lyme Regis, Axminster and Charmouth areas. Please email info@ littlegreenchange.com or text 07803 705100 to arrange a local collection. Items must be in good condition and must not be torn, stained, dirty, damaged or broken.
Little Green Change is a non-profit social enterprise based in Lyme Regis. They provide free environmental education programmes, events, competitions and actions to state-funded primary and secondary schools, and to local communities.
To find out more about this event, go to littlegreen change.com/give-take
Former youth service office to be new homes
A former youth service office in Dorchester, the Routes Office on the corner of North Square and Colliton Street, is to be turned into homes. The listed building in the Conservation Area, has been empty for six years after funding cuts, and the similar conversion plan, which was approved four years ago, was
never started. The latest application will convert the building into three flats; one two-bed, the others onebed; the ground floor flat having access to a basement which, a planning agent suggests, could be used as a lounge. For more than 20 years, the Routes Office gave advice and guidance to
young people, providing support for some 6,000 young people, often in times of crisis.
The building was shared with other services, at its peak 10 staff delivered mental health support, drug and alcohol advice, housing advice, a young parent’s group, pregnancy and sexual health services.
THIS IS THE WAY: Healthy walking
INITIATIVE: Claire Matheson
200 years after the storm
A storm of unprecedented ferocity hit the Dorset coast on November 22, 1824, flooding homes, destroying villages and claiming many lives during the two days it besieged the coast.
Now, 200 years on, Dorset Coast Forum in collaboration with the Environment Agency and BCP are bringing together a free public exhibition, exploring the impact The Great Gale of 1824 left on the Dorset Coast.
Neil Watson, Coastal Engineer from Environment Agency said: “We can learn so much about our coast and its vulnerability to flooding from history. This event 200 years ago left a trail of evidence from Land’s End to Dover.”
The exhibition features personal stories and accounts from 1824, delves into the reasons behind the storm and discusses how we can predict and prepare for future events.
The village of Chiswell in Portland was partly demolished by the hurricane-force storm and 25 lives were lost. To commemorate those
affected, Dorset Coast Forum is working with Portland based arts company, B-side to bring a host of events on Portland.
The exhibition is being held across five locations, including Weymouth Library, Lyme Regis and West Bay ending in Portland on November 24. n See dorsetcoast.com/ great-gale
Crossing works
Pedestrian crossings at High West Street and High East Street in Dorchester will be updated at the end of this month and November 11 respectively from government funds.
Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said: “The new crossings will improve the experience for pedestrians and the smart technology will adapt to current traffic conditions to keep traffic flowing.”
Pension Credit
West Dorset residents over State Pension age could claim £75 per week by applying for Pension Credit.
To check your eligibility, visit gov.uk/pension-credit or call the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234.
FEROCIOUS: The Great Storm of 1824
Town’s heritage displayed on panels
Dorchester Mayor Robin Potter unveiled of two new heritage information panels in Dorchester –celebrating different aspects of the town’s rich history.
At Fordington Mill, the Mayor revealed a new heritage information panel which told of the history of the building and the Mill Street area. The Mill was converted many years ago into residential units and is managed by the Mill Street Housing Society.
The Mayor was joined by Rupert Edwards, the current chairman of the society and whose grandfather started the Mill Street Housing Society and the Mission before it almost 120 years ago.
The members of the Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee then walked up to the King’s Arms on High East Street for the unveiling of another panel about the history of this important building – which featured in Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge.
The committee were joined by the Dorchester Town Crier Anthony Harrison, who performed a cry to celebrate the history of the area.
Impounded cars useful to college
Ten impounded vehicles have been put to good use at Weymouth College.
The vehicles, including BMW, Audi, Ford Saab, Honda, Renault and Mitsubishi, were released to the college after head of curriculum for engineering and automotive Brian Oman contacted the Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick.
A large car transporter made two drop-offs of impounded cars, ready for students to work on.
Another fleet of vehicles is expected in the New Year.
Mr Oman said: “I wanted to take a moment to express my sincerest gratitude for the partnership between our college and Dorset Police.”
TOWN HISTORY: Dorchester Town Crier Anthony Harrison and Mayor Robin Potter
Schoolchildren discover the secrets of farming
Discover Farming, the education arm of the Melplash Agricultural Society, hosted an Expert Day at the Discover Farming Classroom at Washingpool Farm with pupils aged nine and ten from St Mary’s School Beaminster and Salway Ash Primary School. Joy Michaud from Seaspring Seeds, West Bexington described what is involved in growing chilis, Sarah Choudhury
from the Taj Mahal in Bridport made a vegetable curry with the children and Nick Gray, Dorset Wildlife Trust. Nick took the pupils
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY: Youngsters enjoy learning about farming from the experts
pond dipping and talked about the huge array wildlife that the ponds support and the importance it has to the
ecosystem and habitat around it.
The team from Buglers in Beaminster explained the role of the tractor in farming and how it has developed over time and demonstrated the use of a power harrow, used to improve the soil structure by breaking up, refining, and distributing the soil, in the potato field.
n For more details about Discover Farming visit discoverfarming.co.uk
There is a light that never goes out
A spectacular event needs more support this year, after roadworks hampered efforts to light up a hill to remember loved ones.
Candles on St Catherine’s Hill is a community event organised by The Friends of St Nicholas Church in Abbotsbury. The bewitching event, enjoyed by many people every year, is set to be held on Sunday, November 24. But support is down on previous years after roadworks have prevented people visiting Abbotsbury for weeks. Thankfully, the road is now open again. Organisers are encouraging people to visit and buy a candle bag, to enable the event to be as spectacular as usual.
During the event, an
KEEP THE FLAME BURNING: St Catherine’s Chapel at Abbotsbury and, inset, the candle bags
illuminated wheel is created on the hill below St Catherine’s Chapel with hundreds of decorated and illuminated LED lit candle bags commemorating the Saint’s name day.
The origins of the Catherine wheel, known the world over in firework displays, are rooted in the martyrdom of St Catherine of Alexandria.
One of the organisers Julie Evans said: “On a recent trip
to London I was struck by how often I saw references to St Catherine.”
Organisers supply local schools with bags to decorate and the bags also go on sale at Abbotsbury Shops and from the Bridport Tourist Information, costing £2. People are encouraged to decorate them and bring on the day or go to Abbotsbury Village Hall for an art workshop between 12 and
3pm on the day, with art materials supplied. At 3pm in St Catherine’s chapel there will be music by Frenchay, an a capella group, followed at 3.45pm by a short service of thanksgiving and a cash collection for St Nicholas’ Church.
Julie added: “As you leave the chapel, take a few moments to admire the far reaching views of the Jurassic Coast and distant hills beyond. As twilight moves inexorably to evening, the glow from the wheel intensifies emphasising it’s shape. In previous years some of the artworks expressed remembrance of loved ones no longer with us, both human and animal, particularly dogs, and hope for peace – so very pertinent.”
Church makes a stand against bullying with week of events
All Saints’ Church in Wyke Regis is marking Anti-Bullying Week 2024 with an exhibition and events. From November 12-16 the church will showcase examples of the many forms of bullying and advice on how to make a stand. This multimedia
event will include information, art, poetry and inspirational material and will be open from 10am to 4pm with refreshments available and people on hand to discuss issues and guide people on how to get help. On November 12 at 2pm there will
also be a talk from the Dorset Anti Bullying Service to include a video, quiz and refreshments. Tuesday November 12 is also Odd Socks Day. On November 15 there will be a special service at 10.30am of prayer for those affected by bullying.
The annual Melplash Agricultural Society hedgelaying and ploughing match was held at Wyke Farm Chedington. More than 40 ploughmen entered the ploughing classes, four in the mechanical flail hedge trimming class and 35 in the hedge laying competitions.
Charlotte Marshall and Neve Bray, who had attended the hedgelaying taster day to learn how to lay hedges Dorset Style earlier in the month, won the novice pairs class.
Ploughing Results
Vintage Trailed: 1 Alan Hayball, 2 Ceri Johnston, 3
Andy Stacey
Vintage Hydraulic: 1 Michael Symonds, 2 Nigel Stewart, 3
Geoff Fry
Trophies & Special Prizes
Champion Vintage Ploughman (Jack Dare Memorial Trophy):
Alan Hayball
Best Strike Out in Vintage classes: Alan Hayball
Best Finish in Vintage classes
Ceri Johnston
Champion Ploughman in Vintage and match ploughing classes (Blandford & Webb Perpetual Challenge cup) Alan Hayball
Tractor & hydraulically operated 2 or 3 furrow plough: 1 John Harris, 2 Michael Fooks, 3 Mark Symonds
Hedgelayers & ploughers are in a field of their own
Tractor & hydraulically operated 4 or more plough: 1
Barry Dennett, 2 John Shute, 3 Will Doble
Contractor Challenge: (reversible ploughs to use both left and right hand board) 1
Bernard Hayball, (Creed Brother’s Seaborough Salver), 2 Adrian Holloway, 3 Alex Norman
Mechanical Flail Hedge
Cutting: 1 Kieron Roberts, 2
Stuart Hyslop, 3 Jonathan Colebird, 4 Richard Rowe
Trophies & Special Prizes
Streatfeild Perpetual Cup for Best YFC Ploughman – Ceri Johnston, Marshwood Vale YFC
Interclub Silver Perpetual Cup for highest placed YFC –Crewkerne YFC: Georgia Pagett, Jake Pagett and Tom Baker
Champion Ploughman (Open) Malcolm Selby
Champion Ploughman (Local)
David Rae
Best Ins & Outs Malcolm
Selby
Best Strike out Malcolm Selby
Best Finish David Rae
Best Ploughing with Case International Case or David Brown with Kverneland Plough Alex Norman
Best Ploughing with Ford
New Holland Malcolm Selb
Best Ploughing with a John
Deere Tractor Bernard Hayball
Sam Dennett Perpetual
Memorial Trophy for the best finish with a four or five furrow plough Barry Dennett
Novice Ploughman: 1 Ceri
Johnston, 2 Noah Doble
Best Turned-out Tractor & Plough Trevor Miles
Hedgelaying Results
Hedgelayer Open class: 1 Andy Burrough, 2 Terry Coombe, 3 Tim Frampton
Novice Hedgelayer: 1
Catherine Carter, 2 David Clark
Intermediate Hedgelayer: 1 Lydia Lee, 2 Neil Gemmell, 3 Mike Baker
Open Pairs: 1 Rob and Josh Sturmey, 2 Nigel Dowding and Chris Childs, 3 Richard Hooker and George Pidgeon
Novice Pairs: 1 Neve Bray and Charlotte Marshall, 2 Graham Adams and Rory Francis, 3 Edward Stantiford and Oliver Bagwell
Trophies and special prizes
Champion Hedgelayer Andy Burrough
Best Local competitor Tim Frampton
Highest placed Young Farmer
Edward Stantiford, Beaminster YFC
Best hand tool competitor
Edward Stantiford and Oliver Bagwell
Best Lady competitor Lydia Lee
Best work on a poor length of hedge Mike Baker
Best Veteran competitor (65+)
Terry Coombe
Your chance to fill gap in new farmers’ market
A new weekly farmers’ market is on the way for Dorchester – and sellers are being encouraged to sign up. The newly opened Dorchester Emporium, which features a group of traders at the former De Dannan Centre in London Road, will host the market every Sunday from 10am12pm, starting soon.
Organiser Jack McLeod said: “We are looking for quality traders to join and become a great new asset for Dorchester. We have around 20 spaces available and we have 6 traders who have joined so far so everything is looking very positive.
“We need meat, veg, olives, kombucha, cakes, tray bakes, crafts,
bakery, plants and lots more.
“We have inside and outdoor pitches.”
Anyone who would like to trade at the market can email davidjackmcleod@gmail.com or text 07783 324114.
Jack said: “This would be a lovely event for Dorchester.”
LONELY FURROW: Action from the ploughing match at Chedington Picture: ANDY WHITE
Twinners welcome long-serving guest Klaus
Twin Town ties were strengthened when dignitaries and members of the Dorchester-Lubbecke Society came together at a sparkling reception at the council chamber.
Thanks were given to Klaus Herrmann who has worked tirelessly for 50 years to make guests from Dorchester feel welcome in his home town of Lubbecke, as well as enjoying many visits to England.
Next stage for Neighbourhood Plan
Weymouth’s Neighbourhood Plan will go to the next meeting of Weymouth Town Council’s Full Council at 7pm on November 20 in the Chesham Suite room at the Rembrandt Hotel. When endorsed, it will then be submitted to Dorset Council who will put the plan out to public consultation early in 2025. In the run up to November’s Full Council meeting, the latest draft version of the Neighbourhood Plan document will be published at weymouthtowncouncil .gov.uk/neighbourhood-plan on Tuesday, November 12. The updated version will reflect changes made from
feedback received through the formal consultation about what development is desired where and what land should be protected in Weymouth.
Then on Thursday, November 14, a drop-in session is being held at the New Town Hall, Commercial Road from 11am to 6pm. People can go along and seek clarification on the plan and ask questions about how it has changed.
There will be a chance to make formal comments when Dorset Council put it out for a six-week consultation next year. The area covered
Friends a great comfort to patients at county hospital
The Friends of Dorset County Hospital have donated more than 1,000 comfort bags to patients unexpectedly admitted to hospital, since the launch in 2023. The bags are filled with essential toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, tissues, hairbrush, shower
gel, lip balm, moisturiser and sanitary products, and has been expanded to support families in the Special Care Baby Unit. The Friends of Dorset County Hospital was founded in 1956 to provide comfort and help to patients and their relatives at DCH.
in Weymouth’s Neighbourhood Plan is the largest in Dorset and one of the biggest in England and sets policies for the town’s future development up to 2038. It has been prepared
by residents and councillors who make up the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group during several rounds of engagement and consultation.
WILKOMMEN: Klaus Herrmann is welcomed by the Dorchester-Lubbecke Society
Ace of spades: Gardeners help cancer scheme
Bridport & District Gardening Club donated £1,010 to Stepping Out –a Bridport-based cancer rehabilitation scheme, after successful plant stalls at the spring and harvest shows.
Stepping Out help members with their recovery, during and after
their cancer diagnosis. The group is run by Jo Perfect and Richard Walsh, who are both specially trained level 4 cancer rehabilitation instructors.
Richard received the cheque from club treasurer Councillor Ian Bark.
All aboard for winter bus timetables
First Wessex has announced a new winter season timetable.
The changes include retiming a morning service for Weymouth College students, with the first journey from Beaminster timed to help students connect at Bridport. In partnership with Dorset Council, a trial diversion of
the X51 to serve Martinstown and Winterbourne Steepleton will also continue during the winter season.
Passenger numbers will continue to be reviewed to assess the route’s long-term viability.
The X53 route will continue with the temporary route and shuttle service T53 until
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November 8.
Alongside this are the usual reduction of some services for the winter season, in particular on the Jurassic Coaster services X51, X53 and X54.
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Route 10 will run every 15 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes on Sunday, with journey times revised to account for winter season traffic levels.
Route X51’s Sunday service will be withdrawn for the winter season and journey times revised to account for winter traffic. In partnership with Dorset Council, route X51 will continue to serve Martinstown and Winterbourne Steepleton in the winter season.
On route CR6, the first journey from Beaminster will now depart at 7.04am to ensure a connection at Bridport for students travelling to Weymouth College.
First Wessex’s head of network Terrance James said: “Working in partnership with Dorset Council we’re pleased to make changes which continue to improve services for our customers. “These include continuing the X51 route to serve Martinstown and Winterbourne Steepleton, as well as helping college students in Beaminster make their connection to Weymouth College.”
THANK YOU: Members of Stepping Out and the BDGC representatives including president Monique Pasche, chairman Tim Gale and secretary Sibyl Gale
Let’s discuss the elephants in the room
A herd of more than 60 elephants has arrived in Bridport, in preparation for the Stampede by the Sea art trail in West Dorset next spring.
The fibreglass elephant sculptures will be painted by talented artists from the local area, and across the UK – including the West Dorset Magazine’s own Lyndon Wall – before the event begins in March for eight weeks.
Stampede by the Sea will raise both funds and awareness for Weldmar Hospicecare, who provide specialist care to adults in Dorset who have a life limiting illness, and support for their loved ones.
The elephants are being stored at AmSafe Bridport, which will also act as a painting space for the artists who have been selected to bring their designs to life.
Sixty shortlisted designs went on view for the first time earlier this week, with
Pub events
A village pub has lined up a great fun itinerary for December, with movies, bingo and even a market on offer. The Hunter’s Moon Inn at Middlemarsh (DT9 5QN) will show Christmas films on Sundays up to Christmas –the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd –from 4pm. On Saturday 7th there’s Christmas karaoke from 8pm and on Thursday 12th there’s a Christmas market from 6pm. On Thursday 19th there’s Christmas bingo at 7.30pm and on Saturday 21st a Christmas Singalong from 8pm. To book a table for any event call 01963 210966.
local businesses invited to Duke’s Auctioneers to choose the design they want to see on the elephant they have sponsored.
Matt Smith, chief operating officer at Weldmar Hospicecare, said: “With five months still to go before our amazing art trail begins in Bridport, West Bay and Lyme Regis, this has been a big week for Stampede by the Sea. There was a real buzz at our Art Preview, with sponsors finding it tough to choose between the incredible designs
submitted by the artists.”
Audun Rør, of AmSafe, said: “We are delighted to be part of Stampede by the Sea as their official logistics partner. It is such a fantastic opportunity to support the local community with an art trail that will raise essential funds for our local hospice care charity.
“As one of the main employers in the town, who can trace their history back to the rope-making days of the 12th century, it felt right to sponsor an elephant for present and
HAVE YOU HERD ABOUT THIS?
The AmSafe and Weldmar teams involved on the Stampede by the Sea project
past employees to be proud of.”
Once the trail has concluded, the elephants will be auctioned to raise money for Weldmar.
Local businesses are still being encouraged to come forward and discover more about sponsoring an elephant on the trail, to help promote their business with unique PR opportunities, whilst supporting Weldmar at the same time.
n Further details can be found at stampedebythesea.org
Historic garage keeping you on the
By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk
For more than 100 years, motorists have been stopping at Misterton’s garage to get their fuel.
And Mark Hillier has been there for more than half a century, having arrived there aged just 18 months with dad Nick and mum Liz in 1971.
“There are still customers who come in and call me Nick,” Mark said. It’s unknown just how long Misterton Garage has been there, but it is at least a century, with photos going back to the 1920s. It’s had several incarnations over that time, being EA Taylor’s motorbikes for some years before the Hilliers moved in and first turned it into a commercial garage before taking on more and more work on private cars. They quickly became established and became an official Ford service centre, a partnership which still continues today.
Taylors moved to another site before closing – the family still live locally.
In 1978, when Mark was just nine, his father died. Liz carried on the business, despite having three small children, a menagerie of pets and her father to look after.
“I didn’t appreciate just how much she did until now,” said Mark.
“She moved my grandad in here, who brought his vicious goat with him, which kept escaping, despite being chained up, and eating everything it could find – plants,
carpet… everything. Don’t get a goat if you want to keep anything.”
Mark, now 55, spent 20 years working in the workshop before taking over the paperwork after his mum died.
“I’d rather be in the workshop,” said Mark.
“But someone’s got to do the paperwork.”
Mark was joined in the business 40 years ago by sales manager Paul Gillard, who has built up the second hand car sales side.
Both the workshop and the car sales are brisk, keeping them busy.
“Paul has been a total rock,” said Mark. The pumps are still here,
and busy as ever. “We sell fuel as a loss leader,” said Mark.
“There’s no money in it –we make more from selling a Mars Bar!”
The fuel has remained a constant, however,with photos of the various pumps over the years bringing back all sorts of memories of trips in old
BACK IN THE DAY: Pictures of the garage from the 1930s up to the 1980s
road for more than a hundred years
cars, where one would stop and a chap dressed in fragrantly oily overalls would come out and put the fuel in for you, taking the cash through the driver’s window.
The photos show gorgeous ceramic and glass creations atop the pumps, as the brand of fuel changed from Shell, Q8,
Pace, and Cleveland. The original pumps were set at the pavement, but someone must have thought of health and safety at some point as later photos show them set back some way, out of the crash zone.
Photos show a cottage being demolished at a time when such things could be
taken off.
Mark said: “Two cottages were demolished on the site. One was thought to be a home where young women came to have their babies in secret before they were adopted.”
The Hillier family lived, and still does, on site.
The current workshop is at capacity, with bookings two weeks in advance.
There’s no need to change anything – however Mark may make the workshop a bit bigger at some point. One of Mark’s sisters works for Boeing, the other is a nurse and his daughter is a tattoo artist in Dorchester.
His stepson currently shows no interest in the trade, so the site could be in its last phase as a Hillier business.
However it’s a good phase, with scores of great reviews and a loyal customer base. Mark said: “I’ve now got the best staff I’ve ever had. I can go away safe in the knowledge it will all be running well.”
Bringing the photos out for this feature has sparked a desire to find out more and pin down some dates, too.
done without planning permission, in the first half of the 20th century, and the garage was subsequently expanded. A timber-framed workshop was taken down in the latter half of the 20th century – just in the nick of time judging by the way the frame nearly collapsed once the cladding was
n If anyone would like to help Mark with information about the garage, they can contact the garage on 01460 72997 or email mistertongarage ltd@hotmail.com
Misterton Garage is on the A356 just before Crewkerne. It is open 9am-5.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am-1pm on Saturdays.
n mistertongarage1.co.uk
MEMORY LANE: Mark Hillier and Paul Gillard at Misterton Garage today and, above, Liz Hillier. Below: The garage in the 1970s and demolishing the old workshop and, right, in the 1980s
We are closed from 1pm on Sunday, December 22nd till 10am Wednesday, January 8th
dorset-shellfish.co.uk
WELL DONE: Sara Beauchamp and her grandchildren with award winner James Dean, director of Juno Developments at the Dorchester Brewery Building and, inset below, with award winner Sian Merriot, vice-chair of Dorset Museum Board of Trustees Dorset Museum Extension
Civic society hands out design awards
Dorchester Civic Society has announced the winners of The Derek Beauchamp Design Awards 2024. The society whittled down 14 nominations for best new project completed between 2017 and 2024 and came up with three winners: the Dorchester Brewery Building (conversion/restoration), the Dorset Museum Extension (new build); and the Poundbury Nature Project (environment).
Chairman Ian Gosling applauded the quality of all the nominated schemes and said it was a hard task to select the three best ones. The awards were presented by Sara Beauchamp, assisted by her grandchildren Bella and Jake Taylor, in honour of her late husband Derek Beauchamp, who was a past chair of the society.
Derek tirelessly championed and worked on behalf of the society over a great many years, convinced that the town he loved benefitted from having a civic society. Derek was closely involved in many aspects of Dorchester’s life not least through a long-established and well-respected practice as a chartered surveyor. He died in August 2014.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the society.
Isaac Cider is grown and produced on our third-generation family cider farm just outside Beaminster – named in honour of our long-lost great uncle Sir Isaac Newton.
l Open every day 9am-5pm including bank holidays at Coombe Down Farm, DT8 3LZ. Come for a tour and a tasting!
Church Remembrance unites us all with hope
By Canon Deb Smith
What are we doing when we remember?
Sometimes we don’t plan to remember, but something catapults us back in time, perhaps a piece of music, a familiar face, the scent of newly-mowed grass, the sound of children laughing. And sometimes we remember together formally. When we lose someone, or when we remember those who died in time of war. We come together with colleagues, friends and strangers in order to remember. To connect with another time, to connect with people, many we never knew, those who lost their lives in times of war, those who suffered in war and those in the midst of war today. In remembering we stop time and stand together with others across the years, across the world.
The word remember calls on us not simply to recall the past but to re-member our lives, to put them back together, and to see the threads that bind us to each other and to those who gave so much.
At Remembrance Sunday we remember the haemorrhaging of life, mostly young life, the terrible nature of deaths through war, the grief for those bereaved, the suffering caused by wounds that changed the lives of so many, the lives that were never the same again. Even the youngest among us is part of this remembering. It is important that so many young people are here today. Our remembering brings us together as a community, and
we know only too well in what is happening in Israel and Gaza, in Ukraine and so many other places of conflict today, that children and young people know only too well the suffering of war. And it has always been so. Everyone has heard the story of Anne Frank, the teenage Jewish girl who lived in Amsterdam during the early years of the Second World War. She and her family and other families went into hiding, living for two years in cramped conditions in an attic, waiting in daily fear of being discovered by the Nazis. During that time Anne kept a diary – which is now famous. In one remarkable passage she was able to write this: It’s twice as hard for us young people to hold our ground, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.
It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are good at heart.
I see the world being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the suffering of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. These words could have been
written today. They are an amazing expression of faith and hope when there is no external reason to express it. Anne never did see peace and tranquility return. She was taken to Belsen concentration camp where she died in 1944. Anne Frank’s words still startle with their hope and love…they encourage and offer a sign of light in times of darkness. These words, written in the midst of war, speak just as powerfully for us today. They remind us of our own humanity, our hopes for peace,
as we remember those who showed such love and hope in times of war, and of those who do so still today.
Love and hope that we so desperately need in our world – love and hope shown by those who lost their lives in war – love and hope asked of each of us, young and old, so that peace might prevail.
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Freelance copywriter ANDREW KNOWLES is based in Wyke Regis and has a keen interest in history. He is currently charting the histories of long-lived Dorset businesses.
By George, Sir Sam was quite the man
For over 350 years drinkers at a historic Weymouth pub have helped local young people find their feet in life.
The George Inn, beside the harbour, was bought by London merchant Sir Samuel Micoin the 1600s. It was his Dorset base. When he died, in 1666, he gave the pub to Weymouth. He also left £500 to support apprentices and aged seamen. Today, that money and the income from the pub still helps young people get education and support for a career. As a business, the pub has done the same trade, day in
and day out, for centuries. But its operation has not always been entirely legal. This was exposed when the original building was torn down in the 1880s. Hidden away in the brickwork was a set of papers from the heyday of smuggling, 100 years earlier. The documents were financial records –dull to read, but fascinating to historians. They include fees for ‘stones and slings’ – devices used by smugglers to hide casks beneath the waves. It seems that drinkers at the George were not giving much help to the taxman of
HISTORIC: The George on Weymouth harbourside and, below, the Mico plaque
the 1770s. Drinking wasn’t the only activity that took place at the George. In 1865 the body of Thomas Richards was laid out on its tables. The pub was hosting a coroner’s inquest into a recent drowning. It wasn’t unusual for coroners to choose a local hostelry to conduct their grim business. An even grimmer business occurred in the George just a few years later. In 1870 the pub was run by William Hines, with his wife and young family. Thinking he might shoot birds on the Backwater, William bought a gun. His 16-year-old son was asked to take the weapon upstairs, where younger children were playing. Somehow the gun went off and one of William’s children, nine-year-old
Bertie, was struck and killed.
William Hines continued to run the George, presumably until it was closed for demolition a few years later. It was entirely rebuilt and the new pub, the one you see today, opened in early 1885. It was now run by Henry Foot, who advertised it as being ‘fitted with every convenience to meet the requirements of the general public.’
While Sir Samuel Mico wouldn’t recognise today’s George Inn, he’s still remembered in the annual Mico service at nearby St Mary’s Church. It’s followed by hot cross buns, lemonade and wine in the George. He’d also be thrilled that every year around 100 young people get finance for training and tools in a trade or for sport. It’s all because he gave the pub, and some cash, to the town.
Next time you’re beside Weymouth harbour, nip into the George and raise a glass to Sir Samuel Mico. Learn more about Mico’s charity at weymouth towncharities.org.uk
n If you know of a longestablished Dorset business with a story to tell, get in touch. Email andrew@ andrewknowles.co.uk
Learning and training the key to successful business
By DUNCAN McKECHNIE of Action COACH
In an ever-evolving business world, the most successful companies are those that never stop learning. At every level, from entrylevel roles to executive leadership, there’s a universal truth: training isn’t just a one-off effort; it’s a continuous journey that can elevate an individual’s skills, impact, and adaptability. Take managers, for instance. In any business, they are the crucial bridge between the vision of leadership and the day-today work of the team. Great managers are not born— they’re developed. Effective management training hones their ability to lead with empathy, provide
constructive feedback, and adapt their style to meet diverse team needs. With new developments in workplace dynamics, a manager who actively invests in their skills can better support their team, boost morale, and foster an environment where everyone thrives. For salespeople, the value of training is even clearer. Today’s consumers are savvy, and traditional sales tactics are often seen as outdated or impersonal. Sales training today isn’t just about selling a product; it’s about learning to understand client needs, communicate value effectively, and build authentic, lasting relationships. As buyer expectations evolve, a welltrained salesperson is
equipped to stay relevant, meet targets, and contribute to their company’s bottom line with confidence and integrity. And then there’s the rest of the workforce – the oftenunsung heroes who make everything happen behind the scenes. For business professionals in roles across operations, marketing, finance, and beyond, training is what keeps skills sharp and knowledge current. In sectors like technology or finance, where innovation moves at lightning speed, employees need ongoing learning to keep up with best practices, regulations, and market trends. Training empowers individuals to take ownership of their roles, innovate within their departments, and bring fresh
ideas to the table.
Structured training programmes, regardless of the focus area, bring people together for a common goal: continuous improvement. They provide not only the “what” and “how” of a particular skill but also the mindset needed to keep applying these learnings in a real-world context.
Companies that prioritise this investment are often rewarded with a workforce that is adaptable, motivated, and prepared to take on new challenges.
Ultimately, whether you’re a manager, a salesperson, or a specialist in any field, training is key to staying agile and effective. As industries transform, one thing remains constant: the drive to learn is the greatest asset in any business.
Traders celebrate successes at annual awards
Businesses from all over the area gathered to at West Bay’s Salt House for the Gold Awards – celebrating the crème de la crème of organisations from four sets of awards.
Marketing West host business awards across the area and the West Dorset Gold Awards rewarded the very best of the winners. The winners of the West Dorset Gold Awards 2024 are:
Family: Gold, West Dorset Leisure Holidays. Silver, Al Molo.
New business: Gold, CJ
DIDN’T WE DO WELL? Businesses show off their certificates at West Bay’s Salt House
Mortgage Hub. Silver, Island Accountancy and Nikki’s Little Play Café. My Favourite Business: Gold, The Horse with the Red Umbrella and Les Enfants Terribles.
Best Place to Work: Gold, Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. Silver, Gunz barbers.
Independent Business: Gold, Goldcrest Jewellery. Silver, AG Down. Green/Eco: Gold, Little Green Change. Silver, Reconnoitre Energies. Young Entrepreneur: Gold, Hayden Corney of Wafflicious. Silver, George Larcombe of Wildforce and Jay Davies of JD Valets.
B2B: Gold, Clipper Contracting. Café, Pub, Dining: Gold, Ivy House Kitchen. Silver, The Dorset Burger Co and Traders Takeaway and Café.
Customer Service: Gold, Nothe Fort. Silver, Groves Garden Centre and Dorset Hideaways.
BRIDPORT MUSIC CENTRE: 01308 455660
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Killer Sudoku
Pro: Place 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and bold-lined 3×3 box. No digit may be repeated in any dashed-line cage, and each dashed-line cage must result in the given value when the stated operation is applied between all of the digits in that cage. For subtraction and division operations, start with the highest number in the cage and then subtract or divide by the other numbers in that cage.
Down
1 Doubts (7)
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12 Ideas (8)
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Place 1 to 9 once each into every black-bordered 3×3 area as well as each of the 54 rows indicated by the coloured lines. Rows don’t cross the thick black lines. Cryptic Crossword
Primrose Lodge Weymouth is a cheerful residential home popular for its proximity to the seaside. We have a team of highly-trained, friendly and dedicated carers, delivering the highest standard of care and professional support, 24 hours a day.
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Can you solve these brain chains entirely in your head? Start with the bold value on the left of a chain, then follow the arrows and apply each operation in turn. Write the result in the box.
Jumbo 3D Sudoku
Vittles (food & drink)
lives
As summer’s death knell sounds, bringing closure to an ‘almost’ summer, my larder is full of pickles and preserves from the summer’s gatherings. It’s a time of reflection. Most heartbreaking for us is that this month we said goodbye to our adored springer spaniel, my shadow and partner in crime.
Her ashes will be scattered under the apple tree next to where her best buddy lay. It’s never easy.
On a happier note, we look after our youngest grandson one day a week which has been ‘interesting’ when it comes to feeding.
How things have changed from when my own children were young. He has such sophisticated taste, even at 10 months old. It’s a joy to see such a little one with such a sophisticated appetite. It’s the season for coughs and colds and I am a great believer in finding cures and comforts from nature’s feasts. Recovering as I am from a bout of laryngitis, much to
Eat well to beat those winter bugs
my husband’s delight, and a cough that makes me sound like I have a 60 a day habit, I currently have a huge stock pot bubbling away on the stove.
I swear by chicken soup, rich and savoury, a true taste sensation; the scent of ginger, lemongrass, herbs, celery, onions, carrots and a whole chicken titillating my comatose taste buds. This time of year, needs ‘taste’ sensations; strong flavours full of richness to build up our body’s defences.
Bold, strong flavourings, all found in seasonal foods, are nature’s way of battling bugs. Game is a cheap meat. A brace of pheasants can make a lush casserole full of flavour.
Just add wild mushrooms, soft chestnuts along with a generous glug of red wine and serve with roasted root vegetables and/or mash. Another taste sensation is smoked haddock. It’s a
Mum’s Kitchen...
Pumpkin Cake
There are a lot of pumpkins around at the moment. This moist and spicy cake can be made with pumpkin or butternut squash.
Ingredients:
300g self raising flour
300g soft brown sugar
3 teaspoons mixed spice
versatile and strong flavoured fish, and I always find it useful to have in the freezer. Use in a smoked haddock chowder, an iconic rich luxurious soup, or kedgeree – a rice dish full of warming turmeric and eggs. Smoked haddock compliments any egg dish, not forgetting the iconic Arnold Bennet omelette –so simple yet so tasty. Try this recipe for a tasty treat.
100g of breadcrumbs
Method Cook the haddock gently in the milk
Remove the fish, keeping the milk and flake the fish. To make the roux, melt the butter and add the flour, cook for 5 minutes. Add the warm poaching milk to the roux a ladle at a time. When all the liquid has been absorbed and thick, add the chopped haddock and egg yolks. Remove from the heat, allow to cool then chill until completely cold. Beat the two eggs in a bowl
Scoop out a spoonful of the mix and shape
Smoked Haddock Croquettes
2 smoked haddock fillets
600ml of milk
100g of unsalted butter
150g of plain flour
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
175g sultanas
4 eggs, beaten
200g butter, melted
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon orange juice
500g peeled weight of pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated
Optional frosting:
85g sifted icing sugar
Dip into the eggs, then the breadcrumbs, and gently fry until crisp and golden brown.
I served these with a pea puree, made from frozen peas, fresh mint, dill, garlic and stock. Just blitz all ingredients together.
100g mascarpone cheese
200g full fat cream cheese
Zest and juice of a small orange
Method:
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan oven. Butter and line a roasting tin or similar with baking parchment. (Mine measured 33cm x 26cm)
Put flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate
Karen Broad
in Burton Bradstock, with her husband and two mad dogs. She ran The Mousetrap in Dorchester, has lived in France and loves discovering new food producers.
Vittles (food & drink)
Lizzie Crow – AKA Lizzie Baking Bird – is a self taught baker and has recently moved into her own bakery. She also has a stall outside The Old Ship Inn in Upwey each Saturday. See her scrumptious eats at lizziebakingbird.co.uk or find lizzibakingbird on Instagram.
A tasty meal as easy as pie
Potato and Egg Pie
This pie is so easy, uses four ingredients and as a bonus it’s gluten free too.
Serves 4
1 tsp butter, to grease the pan
450g new potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
12- 15 cherry tomatoes
4 eggs
25g cheddar cheese, grated Salt and black pepper
Grease the pie dish with the butter (or use oil if you prefer).
Boil the potatoes until they are soft - I leave the skins on. Drain, then crush with a potato masher. Heat the oven to 190C/ Gas 5. Mix the olive oil and some seasoning in the mash.
Line your pie dish with the potato, pressing in and all around the sides- this will give you a great crust when cooked. Arrange the tomatoes in the dish. Crack in the eggs and season. Sprinkle the cheese on top
and cook for 25- 30 minutes or until the top is brown and the eggs are cooked.
n Lizzie is having a Christmas Tasting Day on Sunday November 17 at The Old Ship Inn from 124pm - she’ll be offering a cup of mulled juice and there will be plenty to try,
large bowl and stir to combine.
So pleased to meat you
buy or order.
Pop along and meet Mat Follas Mure Liqueurs, Jenna with Tulips and Cactus, Pear Tree Produce with preserves and pottery, cheese and more.
n Check out lizziebakingbird.co.uk or insta to see this recipe: Lizzibakingbird
with Diana Holman
Beat eggs with melted butter. Stir in orange juice then mix with dry ingredients. Pour batter into tin and bake for 30 minutes before testing
with a skewer. My cake took longer, a good 50 minutes, and I tested it a couple of times before feeling satisfied that it was cooked through. Cool in the tin.
The rich frosting makes the cake very luxurious, but is optional.
A Dorchester butcher is celebrating a year at his first shop this month. Michael Quinn, 30, pictured above, has worked as a butcher since leaving school, most recently for Chris Rawles in Bridport. But last November he opened his own shop in Dorchester’s Hardye Arcade, offering many traditional products people struggle to find elsewhere, such as faggots, liver and kidneys. He also does a lot of handmade products –the faggots are homemade, as are the burgers and sausages of many flavours. Michael’s Irish ancestors were butchers, so it’s no wonder he’s chosen it as a career. Brought up in Somerset, and working in West Dorset for so many years he has an enviable list of local suppliers for his eggs, cheese and meats. He has now opened up his order book for Christmas, and is urging customers to get their orders in now to avoid disappointment. Quinn’s Butchers have a Facebook page, on which he promotes weekly deals and there’s often a chance to win something from the shop. Search for Quinn’s Butchers.
Opens Tues-Sat 9am4.30pm. Call 01305 608445 or pop in.
SIMPLE: Lizzie’s Potato and Egg Pie
Vittles (food & drink)
Pomp, ceremony, heart and soul: It’s a gift
FOOD REVIEW
Yalbury Cottage, Lower Bockhampton
By John Clements, chef at The Olive Tree, Bridport
Gifts come in all forms. One was a pre-dinner walk around Yalbury Cottage during our birthday week in mid-autumn. It was heralded by housemartins shooting out from hedgerows like blue-black bullets.
Wings tucked back, soaring up, skydiving down. Skimming the fields before us, like tracer-fire. Dinner itself was another birthday gift. I’m really more of a casual than a fine diner and so it was with trepidation that I shined my shoes, donned my jacket, exhaled and entered the dining-room at Yalbury Cottage.
This is high-end, fancydining. Chef trained at the exclusive Four Seasons hotel chain. Ritzy patrons muse in hushed tones while their cutlery clinks. There’s pomp. There’s ceremony. There’s Jags in the car park. Thankfully, though,
no arduous 16-course tasting menu. A simple trio. The portions sensible, not microscopic. No showoffy-foamy shenanigans, gratuitous tweezer-action
or big-reveal pyrotechnics. Starters of Dorset snails and venison croquette were local, seasonal and sumptuous. The braised, beef brisket that followed
was sticky, rich, dark, tender and luscious. My birthday-buddy went for the robust, classic pressed lamb, beautifully slowcooked and presented. You could taste the time, dedication, attention and care invested. Service was off-the-chart excellent and I loved the menu format. Sea, Forest, Meadow, River, Garden. Evocative, simple. To finish, we chose local cheeses and coffee ice-cream. We were hautecuisining in deepest Dorset, in a 300-year-old thatched cottage, across the road from Thomas Hardy’s school.
But Yalbury is much more than a place for the wellheeled and expenseaccounters, keen for fine dining. It’s got heart and soul too. The apprenticeship scheme offered to young budding chefs and front of house staff sees local lives transformed and, like the housemartins, freed to stretch their wings. And what greater gift is there than that?
HIGH-END FANCY DINING: The lamb and beef and, right, the snails at Yalbury Cottage at Lower Bockhampton
Sherryn Sanderson is a professional baker who gave up her business to sail the oceans with her husband and dog. Home base is usually Portland Marina, but they are currently circumnavigating the UK. Follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram at September Moon Sailing.
Chunky bread ideal for chunky soup
It’s Soup Season already! But, if you’re like me and think that the best thing about soup are the sides, you are going to love this Honey Cornbread recipe. It’s a recipe I have stolen from my travels through southern USA and it’s just perfect dip into a steaming bowl of chunky soup. Due to a rather significant issue with our fuel tank, we have decided it’s safer to stay moored up in Royal Quays over winter until we fix the problem. Oop North is rather chilly already, and salads and sandwiches have no place when it’s icy outside. I’m
sure Dorset won’t be far off from getting some cold weather, so make yourself a lovely pot of soup (or find the can opener) and turn your oven on to bake this delicious bread. It’s super easy, needs no special equipment and will be on your table within 45 minutes.
½ cup honey
1 ½ cups of polenta
1 ½ cups of plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarb soda
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ tsp salt
115g of buttermelted on stove top until brown and nutty
Method:
Preheat oven to 190 deg C and prepare an 8 inch round or square cake tin
Whisk together the eggs, milk and honey
Whisk all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl
Whisk the two mixtures
together and stir the butter in well
Pour into cake pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
As it’s rather crumbly, I prefer to butter the slices first and pan-fry, rather than pop into a toaster, before serving.
n I’ve been busy in the galley whilst waiting out the repairs. Follow ‘Sweetly Sailing’ on Facebook for some fabulous recipes that are easy to follow and taste great!
Historic village pub’s Rose & Crowning glory
A classic car restorer and his business manager partner are turning around the fortunes of a historic village inn –and seeing it get busier every week.
James Sutton and Edyta Mikula were visiting the area from Surrey when they fell in love with the west country and decided to find a pub to run.
They found the 500-year-old Rose & Crown at Longburton – a lovely Grade II listed building with a thatched roof, beamed ceilings and open fires with a huge car park – and knew this was the place for them. They have since been busy refurbishing the rooms, and recruited a fantastic chef in Marie Edwards, who has
previously worked with a 3 Michelin star chef and is a qualified master butcher.
James has now scaled back his classic car restoration but still exports cars and holds a monthly breakfast session at the pub on the last Saturday of the month (8am-11am) for petrolheads – you don’t have
to own a classic car to go and enjoy the occasion.
The couple have just finished renovating the three rooms so they are stylish and comfortable, and in keeping with the historic building.
James said: “It has always been a pub, making it one of the oldest in Dorset. It’s not been got at and has the original fireplaces and old beams it’s a beautiful thing.
“We saw the potential in the location and beauty and thought, this is the one.
“The rooms were dilapidated and it was a labour of love but they are fantastic now.
“It has loads of history –some say it’s haunted, though we’ve never seen the resident ghost.”
“I call the ghost Henry!”
said Edyta.
The couple open up WedsSat from 12pm-11pm, with food from 12pm-9pm. Sundays they open 12pm7pm, with carvery till 6pm. There’s a restaurant menu with waitress services and a bar menu. They will be doing Christmas Day lunch, too.
Meanwhile, every week they add something new, such as takeaways for the locals, and a café selling cakes and bacon butties each morning. Real ales, from local breweries, change weekly.
n The Rose & Crown is at Longburton near Sherborne (DT9 5PD). Go to roseandcrownlongburton.com or call 01963 210202.
issues, guttering, downpipes, gullies and Aco/slot drains get blocked with leaves, silt and debris, which in turn can cause damp issues inside your property.
Underground rainwater soakaways can lose efficiency and you will find that storm drains start to back up and no longer soakaway as they should. A new underground soakaway crate system will be required when they fail.
PARROTT LOCKS LOCKSMITH
Off mains drainage systems like septic tanks and sewage treatment plants can get overwhelmed due to cross connections from rainwater pipes
which shouldn’t go into any kind of treatment system that takes away your foul drainage. When this happens your treated final effluent has the potential to be noncompliant, which is classed as a pollution by the Environment Agency. Homeowners are responsible for making sure their off mains drainage asset is compliant with current regulations.
Valley Drains are equipped with the tools and knowledge to assist you with all of these problems that occur during the winter months. n Call Valley Drains on 07958 335973.
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Homes & Gardens
Plenty of choice for winter colour
Mike Burks is the MD of The Gardens Group, with garden centres in Sherborne, Yeovil and Poundbury. Mike is a former chairman of the Garden Centre Association and is a passionate advocate of eco-friendly gardening practices. thegardensgroup.co.uk
Other than Father Christmas, who in their right mind would choose to have their finest hour in the middle of the winter? I’m talking about plants here and those that bizarrely choose the darkest, wettest and coldest months to be at their best! Some do it out of habit and flower at the same time they would in their native climes. But for us gardeners it can be a delight to find plants in their finest hour when most of the rest of the garden is looking pretty poor. One great example is the winter honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima. This is a shrubby form of honeysuckle rather than a climber and to be honest it’s nothing to write home about in spring or summer. But in winter small white flowers appear on the bare branches and they have a powerful sweet scent. Lonicera Purpusii Winter Beauty is very similar with creamy white flowers and is preferred by some. Another medium to large shrub is the Viburnum Fragrans, which also flowers on bare stems. It’s an upright growing shrub with
pleasant summer foliage, bronze when young, turning red-purple in autumn. Its flowers are clusters of heavily scented white-tingedpink and tubular. An alternative is Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn: very similar, but the flowers are much pinker. Unlike the Lonicera Fragrantissima these are pleasing in spring and autumn too. There are even winter flowering trees and one such is Prunus Autumnalis, the Autumn Flowering Cherry also known as the Winter Cherry. The latter causes confusion with the bedding or house plant Solanum capicastrum also called Winter Cherry but it is so different! Prunus autumnalis has good autumn colours and after the leaves fall the flowers are white, scented and are dotted along the bare branches. There is also a pink form P. autumnalis Rosea. Both are small trees and a delight in the winter. There are one or two climbers that have a go in the winter or at least late winter/early spring. These include the Winter
STAMP & COIN COLLECTIONS WANTED
Discerning collector / investor seeks pre-war collections of stamps and coins. Individual items considered. Tel Rod on 01308 863790 or 07802261339
Jasmine, Jasminum Nudiflorum with its mass of yellow flowers. A joy at a very dull time of year. More fun is the evergreen Clematis cirrhosa types, with dainty nodding flowers towards the end of the winter. My favourite variety is “Freckles” with pink brown blotches on creamy flowers. It lasts a long time and the ferny foliage is also attractive. The larger Clematis Armandii – a very vigorous plant – also flowers in late winter and has a fragrance with masses of white flowers. It’s an odd grower, though, sometimes hugely vigorous then oddly gets knocked back in only to recover the next year. It also can get enormous. Hamamellis are also a treat. Commonly known as witch hazel, they have large hazel-like
leaves, which turn beautiful colours in autumn. Then on bare stems in winter the spider-like flowers are produced. There are colours from yellows to oranges and powerful reds. Many of them are beautifully scented. Hamamellis prefer acidic soils which many of us in the Sherborne area don’t posses. Using a large tub such as a half cider barrel and ericaceous compost they can be grown as long as you water them well with rainwater and also feed them in the growing season. But my favourite has to be the Sarcococca or Christmas Box. These small shrubs are evergreen and nothing special in spring and summer. But in autumn they bud up and the flowers open white and tiny but with a huge scent.
DAVE BUYS ALL TYPES OF TOOLS
Call 01935 428975
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Vinyl records, old tools,medals, stamps, postcards, ceramics & glass. Any collectable item, anything considered, quirkier the better! Mike 07919076427
RETIRED COUPLE wish to move to Weymouth. Looking for an annexe or empty second home over winter.
Please give Barb a ring on 01935 415081
WANTED: OLD TOYS. matchbox, Hornby, Railway Items, Airfix, Tamiya, Frog Model Kits. Fast, friendly service Call Paul 07824 154510
Culture
Literary fest so grateful for law firm’s support
West Dorset law firm
Kitson & Trotman has been thanked for its continued support of Bridport Literary Festival. The firm, which has offices in Bridport, Beaminster, Lyme Regis and Weymouth, has been the festival’s main sponsor for the last 20 years. Festival director Tanya Bruce-Lockhart said: “We’re extremely grateful to Kitson & Trotman for their support and look forward to seeing them at this year’s festival.
“You only have to look at all the local events and groups supported by Kitson & Trotman to see how much the firm is committed to the local community.”
From the outset, the firm has supported BridLit, when top writers and speakers give talks in Bridport venues between
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT: Kitson and Trotman partners
Pauline Ellis and Richard King, BridLit director Tanya BruceLockhart, K &T partner Tracy Scammell, The Book Shop proprietor Sarah Meadham and K&T partner Jason Hodnett
Pic: Margery Hookings
November 3-9.
For more information, visit bridlit.com or call in at Bridport Tourist Information Centre in Bucky Doo Square.
Writers bringing their books to life
Striking a different tone, Daisy Dunn has been hailed for rewriting the history of the ancient world through women’s eyes. Dubbed ‘the next Mary Beard’, The Observer believes Dunn’s The Missing Thread ‘feels like a book for our times and for all time’.
Dr Dunn is an awardwinning classicist and author of seven books. Her previous book, Not Far from Brideshead: Oxford between the Wars, a classicist’s portrait of the university city, was a Waterstones, Daily Telegraph and Independent book of the year, selected for Radio 4’s Open Book, and longlisted for the Runciman Award.
You can see her as part of the Bridport Literary Festival at The Sir John Colfox Academy on
November 7 at 2pm.
In The End of Summer, spy’s granddaughter
Charlotte Philby has written a gripping nuanced literary thriller which exposes the secrets and lies so many mother-daughter relationships have to come to terms with.
You can see her at The Bull Hotel on November 5 at noon.
Andrew Pierce’s story of finding his birth mother is an incredible tale of
fortitude, sadness, heartbreak and reconciliation.
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine says Finding Margaret is ‘a warm and vivid read that shows how untidy life can be but that everything can be healed with love. This wickedly gossipy journalist will melt your heart with his own story.’
Pierce tells his tale at the Electric Palace on November 9 at 10am.
Kicking off Bridport
Literary Week, running from November 3 to 9, is Cider with Jessie, with Ciderhouse Rebellion duo Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger joined by Adam’s daughter, poet Jessie Summerhayes. They collectively create an immersive and expansive collection of folk-poems, woven between and around spontaneously created music.
Their latest work, Tales of Colonsay, is inspired by stunning landscapes and awe-inspiring seascapes - a brand new journey in spoken word, deeply connected to the land.
The event at Sladers Yard, West Bay, on November 3 at noon is followed by the option of lunch from the Sladers kitchen.
n Visit bridlit.com, visit the TIC in Bucky Doo Square or call 01308 424901.
LITFEST DATE: Daisy Dunn and, right, Charlotte Philby
Art group stages annual show, and you can join them
Paintings in all mediums will be showcased at the annual exhibition by Weymouth Art Group on Tuesday, November 12 at Southill Community Centre from 10am-4pm. New members are welcome to join the group, which meet on Tuesday mornings at Southill Community
Centre between 9am and noon. Members range from complete beginners to established experienced artists and although this is not a teaching group, a professional artist will occasionally visit for a demonstration or workshop. Bring your own equipment, and an
idea or photo of what you would like to draw or paint.
You can welcome to wander around, take a look and have a chat –everyone is very friendly!
For more details email the chair Carol Morrison at carol.morrison7@icloud.com
You can be shore of vibrant exhibition
By Karen Bate
Art exhibition Beyond the Shore at the Artwey Gallery in Weymouth will depict the mesmerising coastal journeys of lives by the sea by four artists.
Becky Brown, David Harrison, Nicki Greenham and Zoë Schofield capture the shifting colours, forms, and reflections of the landscape in this vibrant exhibition which takes place between November 18 and 24.
Abstract artist Nicki said: “We all have a very different styles, but all our paintings communicate the way we feel about living by the sea. We’re all telling the same story in different colours, it’s a wonderful mix reflecting the diversity of the beautiful nature around us.”
Becky Brown discovered her love for painting during her A-level art and is fascinated by the stunning colours that the sky and sea create together. A particular “A particular spot I love is Chesil beach and the Fleet, because it is continuously changing and captures the most
beautiful sunsets.”
Zoë Schofield said: “For many years my artistry was very much on hold whilst I was kept busy with a career and hectic family life. But I always knew that one day I’d create the opportunity to make more time for my art. I love to create art and
surface pattern designs inspired by the stunning Jurassic Coast and beautiful countryside of my home here in Dorset, which supplies an endless feast for all the senses!”
And despite having no formal training and no fine art degree, artist David Harrison was
thrilled to have one of his paintings selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2023.
Nicki Greenham uses everyday objects to apply paint, including pebbles and seaweed, to create vibrant, abstract paintings. n More details at artwey.co.uk/events
COASTAL JOURNEY: Artists Nicki Greenham and, below, Becky Brown and Zoe Schofield
Culture
Nature comes Calling for landscape
Dorset’s National Landscape has been chosen to be a major hub for a £2million national arts project.
In partnership with Activate Performing Arts, the national landscape will be a hub for the Nature Calling project, funded by Arts Council England, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) and National Landscapes in England.
The Dorset landscape is one of six locations selected to be visited by writers and artists; for Dorset that will be EnglishGhanian writer Louisa Adjoa Parker and Becca Gill, an artist and producer, both from the South West.
Louisa Adjoa Parker said: ‘‘I’m delighted to have been commissioned as the Dorset writer for Nature Calling. I’m looking forward to hearing local people’s stories about life in Dorset, and their
connections with the local landscape. I’m especially keen to hear from those who haven’t traditionally been represented in nature and rural writing.’’
Becca Gill said: “The project isn’t just meaningful – it’s fun,
aiming to captivate a broad audience and draw attention to our natural and sacred sites. We may have forgotten the stories our landscapes tell, but together, we can rediscover and inspire new tales of care, nurture, and community.”
Kate Wood, executive and artistic director for Activate Performing Arts and Bill Gee, co-artistic director of Inside Out Dorset, said: “We have worked with our partners across the country to select
Controversial comic’s Dorset dates
Famed for his Channel 4 Comedy Product in the 90s, counter culture comedian Mark Thomas is bringing his new tour Gaffa Tapes to West Dorset next month. He will be playing Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 7.30pm on November 27, and Bridport’s Electric Palace at 8pm on November 29. Mark’s now famous mix of standup, theatre, journalism and the odd
bout of performance art has made him one of our oldest surviving alternative comics. Still firmly on his antiTory wagon after 40 years, Mark has won eight awards for performing, three for his human rights work…and one he made up himself. He made six series of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product and three Dispatches documentaries for Channel 4, plus five
series of the Manifesto for Radio 4. He has written five books and four playscripts, and has curated and authored two art exhibitions with artist Tracey Moberly and was commissioned to write a show for the Royal Opera House. He has parked a missile outside a cathedral, forced a politician to resign, changed laws on tax and protest, become the Guinness Book of Records
a really diverse range of extraordinary writers, musicians and artists. We are thrilled with their ideas for Nature Calling and look forward to working with them and the communities in all the locations.”
Nature Calling is described as a first for National Landscapes because of its size, scope and the level of investment.”
A project spokesperson said: “Nature Calling will bring together the 34 National Landscapes in England, local arts organisations and community groups from within a 30-minute journey time of their nearby National Landscape. “They will work together to co-create artworks inspired by these iconic places and the results will then be shared with the public in a season of art from May to October 2025. It is expected that 70,000 people will take part nationally.”
PROTEST: Mark Thomas
world-record holder for number of protests in 24 hours, taken the police to court three times and won - with a fourth lawsuit in the pipeline –and has walked the length of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank.
It’s the Fort that counts in this ghostly drama
An evocative and compelling new play set on a Dorset hillfort will be coming to The Bay Theatre in Weymouth ahead of its London premiere.
It’s 1am on an Iron Age hillfort in North Dorset, where 15-year-old best friends Viv and Daisy wait for a ghost. Away from dysfunctional families and small-town gossip, up on the fort Viv and Daisy can be entirely themselves. With so much beyond their control, this is their stomping ground, their escape… until
the ghost turns up.
Tabitha Hayward started writing Fort on train journeys between Dorset and the Royal Court Theatre in London, where she was the only nonLondoner on a playwriting course.
“Everyone says ‘write what you know’, and I’d always thought that was way too boring for me,” said Tabby, “until I realised no one else had grown up in a town with a cheese festival, or knew what a hillfort was, and that all the stuff which I’d found boring and frustrating as a kid.”
The result is a beautiful snapshot of rural adolescence, recently shortlisted for Masterclass’ Pitch Your Play prize.
Dorsetborn will be touring Dorset and Hampshire ahead of a limited run at Theatre 503 in London. This will include a performance at The Bay Theatre at Weymouth College on Wednesday, November 20 at 7.30pm. Tickets are now available from £11 at ticketsource.co.uk/ thebaytheatre or call the box office on 01305 208702.
County’s honour for musician Polly
West Dorset’s PJ Harvey is to be honoured with a special award for her contribution to Dorset Music at the Original Music Awards at Lighthouse Poole on Friday, January 17.
The musician, composer, poet and songwriter has consistently drawn on her Dorset roots, from the gutsy songs of her 1992 debut album Dry, through the Mercury Prizewinning Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) and Let England Shake (2011), to last year’s I Inside the Old Year Dying. In 2022, she published her verse novel Orlam, the first substantial work written in the Dorset dialect for decades.
Polly Harvey grew up on a farm near Corscombe and cut her musical teeth playing pub back rooms and get togethers in West Dorset before joining Bristol-based band Automatic Dlamini, then forming her own band in 1991 and moving to
HONOUR: PJ Harvey Picture: CHRISTIE GOODWIN
London where their first demo tape attracted the attention of John Peel, the music press and record labels.
Announcing the award, the Original Music Awards Panel 2024 said: “We are recognising PJ Harvey
with this award, not because of her notable successes, but because Dorset has always remained at the heart of her work. Whether it be using soundscapes of Dorset in her creations or writing poetry in the Dorset dialect, it’s very clear that she has always remained true to her roots.
“This award is for her often unseen or overlooked contribution to the music scene, but one that we think is highly important to recognise and should indeed be celebrated.”
Another special award will go to Lyme Regis’s Mischa Weston Green, a musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist who leads a musical collective of over 50 musicians, Mischa & His Merry Men (also known as The Merry Many).
Alongside this, he manages six businesses and dedicates his time, expertise, and financial resources to various
charities and non-profits, supporting more than 25 causes in the last five years alone. Last year, Mischa personally donated £23,000 and played a pivotal role in raising £110,000 through fundraising events. He also volunteered 400 hours of his own time and covered the costs for 545 hours of his team’s efforts – all directed toward grass roots causes and charities. Mischa does this because he feels blessed to have his health and to be born into relative civil society when so many others around the world have far less. Furthermore, he has a deep connection with nature, so has made a pledge to Mother Earth to ensure he does everything he can to protect the environment and all life on it.
The Original Music Awards are at Lighthouse on Friday, January 12. Tickets from lighthousepoole.co.uk or on 01202 280000.
Culture
Volunteers making the most of isle’s
VIVIANE HORNE meets more of Portland’s people, Portlanders’ and Kimberlins’ stories of migration to the isle, inspired by B-Side’s community project for the next two years Who Do We Think We Are?’
Sandra, aka ‘Sandy’ West has been Mayor of Portland four times and has served on Portland Town Council for 22 years.
In 1963 she met a young man from Portland, in Plymouth where she was born and grew up. He was in the Merchant Navy, serving on the same ship as her brother. They got married in 1967 and moved to the island on their wedding day. It was hard for Sandy at first, she had no family connections to the isle and she missed her parents and five siblings, especially her baby sister, who was only two.
She spent her working life as a civilian for the Navy and says it was a bitter blow for many people when they left Portland. She was lucky to find a job she loved afterwards, as a Community Champion’for Asda in Weymouth. In her spare time she volunteers and in 20 she volunteered at the Olympics and Paralympics.
Sandy loves volunteering and has also helped at the London leg of the Tour de France, her favourite event being the poppy planting (and removal) at the Tower of London. She volunteers as a steward at B-Side, Portland’s yearly art festival. She has also given talks on the Suffragettes, and dressed as a Second
World war nurse for Weymouth carnival in 2018 – the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote. She loves everything about Portland, it has given her everything she could wish for, a home, a place to bring up her children, a real sense of community and a peaceful place to live. She says it has its problems of course, and the loss of 19 shops in Fortuneswell has been very frustrating.
n For the last two B-Side Festivals I have been lucky to be taken on a trishaw ride by Steve Loveless of Cycling Without Age.
Steve bumped into founder Des Lochrie after his mum died in 2022 and he liked the idea of taking people of all ages with mobility issues, out on a trishaw and let them feel the sun on their faces and wind in their hair. Steve has lots of strings to his bow, but this may be how many Portlanders know him. He was born in West Chaldon near Dorchester and grew up mostly in Owermoigne and Crossways. He met partner Kelly 25 years ago and they moved to Portland in November 1999. Both of them had children from previous relationships and they found the perfect
sized property on the isle.
Steve says he was a bit wary of moving there at first as having played football on Portland it had always seemed foggy or blowing a gale. Now he can count the foggy days on his hands and feet and the locals say if it’s blowing a gale it’s a good day to dry washing.
Steve originally worked in finance but after the 2008 financial crash he needed to help his brother and his parents as their health was deteriorating.
Kelly and Steve also became foster carers, which he remembers as both challenging and rewarding, bringing many
ISLAND LIFE; Sandy West at Portland Bill and Steve Loveless on one of his trishaws
community spirit
happy memories and now ‘adopted’ grandchildren! Kelly’s work in schools took her from Portland to Weymouth’s St Nicholas and St Laurence primary school, so Steve began doing voluntary work there. He supervised swimming lessons (and still does), reading groups, school camps and residential trips in the UK and abroad, enjoying seeing children adventuring outside the curriculum. Steve still volunteers at the school. After 2010 when he sadly lost his brother, he cared for his parents 3/4 days a week whilst still fostering. He lost his dad in 2016 and continued to share caring of his mum with family and friends for another four years. He and Kelly gave up fostering when their last foster placement reached 18 in 2021 but they were delighted when their young person wanted to stay so they became ‘Shared Lives Carers’ with Dorset council. Sometimes they do respite for other young adults whose
Amy and Laura so good for your soul
Feeling down because you didn’t manage to get a ticket for soul diva Amy Mayes’ recent excellent but sold-out gig at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange?
in London, and that’s after another hugely successful summer in Ibiza where she performs to tens of thousands nightly at many of the island’s exclusive clubs.
parents or carers need a break.
Weymouth and Portland Cycling Without Age is now five years old, has a Dorchester/Bridport branch and a total of nine trishaws making it the joint biggest group in the world with Gold Coast Australia, an amazing achievement for a local charity. Since September 2019 when it was launched, the group has carried over 5000 passengers. The cycling helps Steve’s weak back and keeps him fit. He loves taking elderly or disabled people on rides along Weymouth Esplanade or down to Portland Bill, they call it ‘miles of smiles’.
He likes living on Portland because of the community spirit and there are lots of interesting and kind people, Kimberlins and Portlanders! His concerns are the traffic increasing due to all the new house building, it’s got worse over the years and he can’t see it improving getting to or through Weymouth.
Well, here’s some news to cheer you up. Amy will be performing at a one-off gig at Preston Village Hall, Weymouth, on Friday, November 15.
And not only will she be playing with her top-notch band comprised of the cream of local musicians, she’ll be joined by her friend from music college days in Weymouth and Leeds The Lovely Laura on sax. Laura will be joining Amy straight from her Ministry of Sound Halloween show
It’s been a busy few months for the Weymouthbased soul, blues and pop chanteuse after several dates around the south west in support of her superb debut album Standing
If you like your blues and soul expertly delivered with added goosebumps, then this definitely worth a listen. And you can get it from Spotify and all the major streamers.
n Tickets for the Preston Village Hall show are £15 and available from buy.stripe.com/dR6bKo7S4 6xQ9fW288 Further details from amymayes.co.uk
Bands get together again for another charity show
It’s high time for another bands reunion gig at the Centenary Club in Weymouth. This series of shows from musicians and bands on the south Dorset circuit in the 1960s, 70s and 80s has been going for a number of years now and has raised tens of thousands for local charities.
The latest get-together is on Friday, November 15 and features Package Deal, Memphis Jazz Band, Wot 4 and The Originals. Tickets are £8 with all profits going to local charities and available from the club on 01305 839310.
GETTING ABOUT: Trishaws spotted in Weymouth
Post Office scandal in host of theatre attractions
Make Good, a production about the Post Office scandal, will be shown at a special screening at The Royal Manor Theatre in Portland on November 15.
Directly informed by conversations with affected sub-postmasters, Make Good dives into this most local of stories, capturing the raw emotions, the bewilderment and the unbreakable bond of faith and family that were put to the test. The audience can experience the astonishing resilience of entire communities as lives were destroyed
in a scandal that isn’t over yet... For tickets visit at royalmanor theatre.co.uk or email info@royal manortheatre.co.uk
Tribute has been paid to Royal Manor Theatre director Sally Campbell for her hard work in the ‘Allo ‘Allo performance – the theatre’s ‘most successful production’ ever. A theatre spokesperson said: “We are so humbled by the response from our lovely community, selling almost 100% of all available tickets across all six nights and with such a magnificent response from all that
came to see this nostalgic slice of 80s British TV. Love and thanks go to all cast and crew and our director Sally Campbell for all the hard work that has paid off in spades.”
And preparation has started for the February pantomime, The Lion, the Witch, and the Flatpack Wardrobe. There’s still a chance to be involved in all aspects of the production, including backstage and front of house. Email jodave49@yahoo.com for details.
n Follow on Facebook or royalmanortheatre.co.uk.
Welcome to our very quirky town
A book celebrating the quirky, the amusing and tales of the downright odd in Bridport over the centuries has been published by the town’s museum.
Quirky Bridport, penned by museum volunteer Tegwyn Jones, contains 80 illustrated stories about Bridport and nearby villages, with support from Bridport 24 - Town of Culture.
Tegwyn collected the stories from Bridport Museum’s archives, which include Antarctic explorer Albert Balson, Walter Powell the Ballooning MP, Ethelbert Holborow the DIY sailor, and events such as an exorcism of the A35, a 1755 Tsunami and, of course, the Hat Festival. Tegwyn said: “It’s been a fascinating exercise, inspired by a similar book on offbeat Paris. I found plenty of great stories in the museum archives, the library and local papers; many more than I needed for this book. Bridport has
a seemingly endless capacity to produce wonderful characters and quirky events. In the end I had to cut the number of stories down to fit into a paperback.
“Last year, the museum's booklet on Boozy Bridport was so popular that we had to print a new edition. Encouraged by this, and
ALL ABOUT US: The book is launched in front of Bridport Museum, and, right, the cover featuring the hat festival. Left: Albert Balson serves cocoa to his crewmate aboard the Terra Nova in Antarctica
Launch photo: JIM BINNING
Hat festival photo: NEIL BARNES
the amount of material that was coming to light, I felt that a book on Quirky Bridport might be really interesting for locals and visitors alike.”
Emma Squire, chair of museum trustees, said: “Like all museums, we are always looking at new ways to engage with local people and visitors about
the heritage of the town and our area. This book, Quirky Bridport, is part of that effort. It's a great way to support the museum and find out more about the town's fascinating history.”
n Quirky Bridport is available from the Bridport Museum shop in South Street.
READ
There are so few statues of women in the UK. Only in 2022, Mary Anning became the first non-royal woman to be commemorated in this way in Dorset. Now plans are afoot to celebrate another of Dorset’s trailblazing dames, with a statue of writer and LGBTQ+ pioneer Sylvia Townsend Warner in Dorchester’s South Street.
A public vote was held to decide who to celebrate, and now Sylvia will join the six statues of men in Dorchester. Warner lived for many years in Frome Vauchurch, on the edge of Maiden Newton. She is famed for many novels including The Flint Anchor, The Salutation and Winter in the Air and she wrote many of her works in the village. She died in 1978, aged 84. She is still remembered fondly by many residents, who say she was a generous soul who would contribute towards people’s bills at Christmas. Warner’s Marxist leanings were sparked by the growing fascist movement at the time, and this activism informed many of her works, as did her sexuality.
Mark Chutter, chairman and academic director of the Thomas Hardy Society, said: “Sylvia Townsend Warner was a prolific writer and poet whose career spanned six
ON THE BENCH: How the staue of Sylvia Townsend Warner will look and, above, Mark Chutter with Sylvia, played by Nicole Brugger
Trailblazing Sylvia to be immortalised with statue
decades, producing some of the most varied, witty, and revolutionary work of her time. Yet, despite her remarkable contributions, her name is rarely mentioned and remains absent from Dorset’s literary landscape.
“Townsend Warner’s personal life was just as remarkable as her literary achievements. She spent most of her adult life in rural Dorset with poet Valentine Ackland, her longterm partner. At a time when
same-sex relationships were heavily stigmatised, their partnership defied societal expectations, positioning both Townsend Warner and Ackland as pioneers for LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance.”
Tracy Chevalier, author and patron of Visible Women UK, said: “When people think of Dorset writers, they tend to think of men. Thomas Hardy and the poet William Barnes; that’s why I’m so delighted
that there is going to be a statue of Townsend Warner, who spent most of her life in Dorset. I think it’s great she will finally be acknowledged alongside the men.”
Denise Dutton, who created the beautiful Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis, will be making the statue, which will feature a cat. Sylvia was an avid cat lover, and it has been decided to also immortalise Dorchester’s famous puss Susie.
Village book purchasers just won’t let it Leigh
A book about Leigh has been reprinted due to demand.
Villager Les Wallis presented cheques from all profits of his book, Tales of a Life in Leigh, to various amenities in Leigh back in February. The book has now gone on to its 3rd printing by request for those who didn’t manage to get a copy earlier, with all future profits promised to Dorset
Air Ambulance.
As well as detailing what real life was like throughout the West Country in earlier times, long before cars or television sets were commonplace, not to mention computers and mobile phones, Les skilfully conjures up evocative memories of childhood for almost anyone who grew up in those years following the war. As
well as also being illustrated with a rich selection of photographs, it’s all told with a wonderful sense of fun.
The book is available in the Little Leigh Store and Café in Leigh or can also be ordered directly from Les at leswallis@hotmail.co.uk for £12 plus £3.50 P&P (postage for multiple copies on request).
Culture
Dorchester Drama are back on stage this month with Blithe Spirit, widely regarded as one of Noel Coward’s most sparkling comedies.
When Charles Condomine and his second wife Ruth throw a dinner party for their friends the Bradmans, they invite eccentric medium Madame Arcati to join them and officiate at a seance.
But when she accidentally summons the meddlesome spirit of Condomine’s first wife Elvira, Charles’ wellordered life is thrown into complete disarray –especially as only he can see his former ghostly spouse.
Matters then get uproariously out of hand when Elvira’s meddling takes a dark turn and Charles and Madame Arcati suddenly find themselves trying to send two spirits back from whence they came. The play is directed by Dee Thorne and the cast includes Peter Gordon and Linda Bolton as Charles and Ruth Condomine, Colin Davidson and Tilda Sansom as their friends the Bradmans, Barbara Proctor as Madame
Drama club in fine spirits with Coward comic classic
Arcati, Mel Austin as Elvira and Ivana Jelinic as Edith, the Condomine’s maid and the unwitting key to the hauntings. Rehearsals are well underway and Dee says she is delighted with the way the play is coming together.
She said: “With less than a month to go, the cast are already very good with their lines and the props, set and costumes are coming together. We are also having fun putting the magic together, which
can be quite tricky.”
This is the fifth time Dee has directed with Dorchester Drama and she says she is pleased they are putting on a wellknown play this autumn, especially as Arsenic and Old Lace, which the group staged in November 2024, was a sell-out success. She added: “I am loving directing this play and seeing what the cast are bringing to their characters, and how they are developing their characters.
“I think the audiences will love it, and be transported to that era, and anyone who enjoys Noel Coward’s work will have a wonderful time.”
n Dorchester Drama’s sparkling adaptation of Blithe Spirit is at Dorchester Arts on Friday and Saturday, November 22 and 23 with performances at 7.30pm and a 2pm matinee on the Saturday.
Tickets are £12 from dorchesterarts.org.uk and 01305 266926.
A wonderful evening enjoying Spanish steps
REVIEW IGNITE
The Corn Exchange, Dorchester
By Diana Holman
We enjoyed a wonderful evening of music and dance recently, given by the international flamenco company MI Flamenco.
My previous knowledge of flamenco
music had been limited to displays of colourful dancers whilst on holiday in Spain, so the quality, intensity, grace and drama of this performance came as a total and thrilling surprise. The show was produced by locally based husband and wife Ester and Uri Tal.
Uri had written the dramatic and haunting music for both guitar and
cello.
The beautiful and emotional voice of Jerez singer Luis Vargas Monge ‘El Mono’ and talented cellist Nick Squires completed the ensemble of musicians.
Dancers Ester Tal Tomas Arroquero in traditional costume completed the cast of performers entertaining an almost packed theatre.
REHEARSALS: Linda Bolton and Tilda Sansom as Ruth Condomine and Mrs Bradman and, right, Colin Davidson and Peter Gordon as Dr Bradman and Charles Condomine
Robb’s dealt with money, now his poetry is funny
A former financial adviser from Bridport has published his first book.
Robb Harris’s Poetry for Fun is a collection of poems to make readers laugh and cry.
His publicist said: “Robb Harris’ professional life up to this point has been as a financial advisor, which means spending time discussing the seriousness of finance, death and illness, so he has always maintained a
slightly juvenile sense of humour to feel happy in life.
“After moving to Dorset with his wife, Nicky, he has been inspired to put pen to paper and he loves the process of recording his thoughts in a format that hopefully will entertain. Being given the opportunity to bring his words to a wide audience is something for which he is truly grateful to Olympia Publishers.
“Robb takes readers on a journey through the full spectrum of human emotions. From whimsical verses that tickle the funny bone to heartfelt lines that resonate deeply, Poetry for Fun’ showcases Harris’ creative genius and his ability to capture the essence of life in every stanza.”
n Poetry for Fun is available at all good bookshops priced £7.99.
Cartoon anthology an ideal present
Christmas is coming and our illustrious cartoonist Lyndon Wall’s hilarious book of Dorset-themed cartoons will make the perfect present or stocking filler.
Upsydown was 18 months in the making, published by Amberley in May, and is a Dorset lover’s dream.
“It’s great to indulge in the things we are passionate about,” said Lyndon.
“And hardly a day goes by without me cartooning away busily, often into the early hours.
“There was therefore more head scratching to decide which cartoons to select and likewise omit from the book.”
Some of the more unusual events around the county are included, such as the incident of a prisoner
escaping in just his underclothes, and the moment the emergency services were called out to
FESTIVE DRAW: Upsydown by Lyndon Wall and, inset, the man himself
investigate a pile of clothes found on Weymouth beach. The book also includes some very famous Dorset
residents, including Julian Fellowes, Martin Clunes and Sir Brian May. Other notable Dorset luminaries are Thomas Hardy and William Barnes. Lyndon Wall, who has been carrying the West Dorset Magazine pencil since we launched two-and-a-half years ago, is a multiaward-winning cartoonist. Lyndon won The Teniel Cup in the National Political of the Year 2022, he is besieged with commissions and his work has appeared in The Dorset Year Book and Dorset Life An avid pipe smoker, he has cartooned for the Pipe Club of London and, as a classic car owner the Riley RM Magazine.
n Upsydown is available at £15.99 from Waterstones, WHSmith and Amazon.
Beaminster Singers gearing up for annual autumn concert
The Beaminster Singers are rehearsing for their annual autumn concert which will take place on Saturday, November 23 at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Parish church. The programme is a cheerful mixture of lesser known and well-known pieces.
The joyful Magnificat in C by Bach –one of the many composer sons of
father Johann Sebastian – will begin the performance and this will be followed by the delightful little mass by Mozart, The Spatzenmesse or Sparrow Mass, so named because of the twittering figures in the middle of the Sanctus.
Choral excerpts and favourite arias from well-loved oratorio Elijah will complete the evening.
The four soloists are Amy Carson, soprano, Marie Elliott Mezzosoprano, Paul Badley tenor and Timothy Dickinson, bass. Simon Clarkson will be accompanying at the organ.
Tickets are £15 from choir members, Yarn Barton, Beaminster and the Church Office in Hogshill Street, Beaminster.
Swimmers make a splash for a very good cause
Mayor Anne Rickard joined President Clive Greenaway in sounding the horn to start the 28th Annual Swimarathon at Bridport Leisure Centre. Junior, mixed and senior teams of up to six competed by swimming laps for 55 minutes. Competition was enthusiastic and noisy and the teams were cheered on by family and friends.
A spokesman said: “We were delighted to welcome
three teams from the SEN Swim School with their teachers. Their enjoyment was obvious.”
Prize winners will be notified in early November and will be invited to a presentation evening at Highlands End on November 28 to be awarded medals cups and enjoy a buffet.
Bridport Lions are very grateful for the support of the local businesses who sponsored the event.
Daggers hold out for deserved win
Blandford 16 Bridport 21
By Simon Bareham
The Daggers earned back-toback wins as they followed up their home win over Lychett Minster with a narrow victory on the road at Blandford. Bridport started brightly and gained confidence quickly from some well-drilled set moves.
There was also more influx of Colts players, with Lucien Bird making his senior debut. Once again all of the Colts stepping up performed well, in particular George Chapman who looked threatening with ball in hand.
Blandford opened the scoring account after a Bridport penalty infringement in front of the posts. Although converted, Bridport were fortunate to quickly gain a penalty of their own, with a Blandford playing from an offside position. Bridport converted to make the score 3-3.
The tackling from both teams was furious, with Charlie Samways, Iwan Mullin and Hugh Vivan crunching players in all parts of the
pitch. Bridport’s defence proving more resilient to that of Blandford’s attacking phases.
The Bridport backs, through terrier-like kick and chase work, continued to keep Blandford pressed in their own 22. This continued pressure finally saw Bridport score after 35mins. Quick hands through the backs finally released Corben Newman on the wing, who pinned his ears back to score in the Blandford corner. The conversion was missed to leave the score 8-3 to the away side.
Although smaller than the Blandford pack, Bridport forwards did particularly well. Improvements in the lineout and scrummaging was heartening to see, with a
significant performance from Louis Cornick, who was Bridport’s player of the match.
A well-deserved Bridport penalty at the end of the first half, gave them a solid 11-3 lead at half term.
The start of the second half saw Blandford exert more pressure. A missed penalty and then a subsequent converted penalty through determined play made it 11-6.
In some loose play, Bridport’s number eight Vivian was overzealous and was penalised with a yellow card. With Blandford’s resurgence and Bridport being down to 14 the next 10mins was going to be tough.
Despite being down to 14, Bridport continued to apply pressure. With Mullin making
it pay by scoring from a pickup at the base of the scrum and driving to the line. The conversion a formality, leaving the score 18-6.
A further penalty for Bridport, taking the score to 21-6 put some daylight between the teams at last, although Blandford were not done yet, finally getting the ball wide and stretching Bridport’s defence sufficiently for them to score a unconverted try. A second yellow card against Bridport gave Blandford further hope, with the home team adding another unconverted try to edge closer at 21-16.
To the Daggers’ relief this was how it remained as the referee blew the final whistle to give them a well-earned win over a solid Blandford team.
n The Daggers’ are currently seventh in the Counties 2 Tribute Dorset & Wilts South, South West Division. Their next home match is on Saturday, November 9 as they entertain second-place Wimborne II, with kick off at 2.30pm.
IN THE SWIM: The Hasbeens (ex Barracudas)
UP FOR IT: Action from the Daggers’ match at Blandford
n Sherborne Ladies have benefitted from a fund from internet provider Gigaclear as part of the company’s fund established to support community teams. Through the scheme, Sherborne Town Ladies have acquired sports equipment including two large training goals, two small training goals plus cones, bibs and mannequins, and a target net.
Manager Wesley Gullin said: “We are delighted to have Gigaclear supporting us this season. The
equipment they have supplied will help our staff deliver better sessions
for players, as we strive to produce a more professional environment for them.
“The club has grown enormously since it formed in 2018, and we now have well over 150 women and girls that have a club they can be proud to play for.
“We are excited about where we can go with the support of a fantastic organisation like Gigaclear, and we look forward to working with them for seasons to come.”
Zebra Ladies so close to cup shock
Despite a battling performance, Sherborne Town Ladies narrowly missed out on a upset in their FA Cup first round tie at Bristol Rovers Women losing 4-3 to their higher-ranked hosts. Trailing 3-0 at half time, the Zebras came back with three second half goals to give Rovers a real scare, and were unlucky not to take the game to penalties.
Manager Wesley Gullin, said: "I am incredibly proud of the team, they deserved more but they can definitely use the performance to push on and do well in the league now."
Sherborne Town Ladies reached the First Round proper by virtue of two crushing victories, with skipper Kelly Snook scoring five goals in the 10-0 demolition of Bemerton Heath
Harlequins, before adding a brace in the 8-2 victory at St Austell. She said:
“It’s always good to get on the scoresheet,
performance and results are always the most important thing. The FA Cup is on a par with the league for us really.
“ There is a monetary value so it helps us as a club if we do well and it’s nice to have some games against teams we don’t normally play.
“The Championship teams enter the competition in round two and it would have been massive for us to play against one of them.
“We have a very strong squad so feel we can compete in the cups without detracting from
our focus on the league.”
The Zebras are unbeaten after their opening five league fixtures and are currently in fifth place in the South West Regional Womens Football League Premier Division, although only two points behind early pace-setters, Torquay United.
Kelly said: “It’s been a good start for us, but we are a little disappointed that we haven’t won the two games we’ve drawn. They were both winnable games so it’s a little frustrating to drop points but we do set high standards for ourselves. We are really focused on promotion having been close before and our manager has instilled a lot of confidence in us.
“We added a couple of good players in the summer and some young players have come through too, we’ve got a really good team and promotion has to be our primary aim for the season.”
IN THE NET: Sherborne Ladies have welcomed Gigaclear support
UP FOR THE CUP: Action from the match at Bristol Rovers and, inset, skipper Kelly Snook
Down to earth
As you descend Easton Lane into Easton, the village in the centre of the Isle of Portland, the view is quite remarkable – the twin spires of the Methodist church in Easton Square peeping over the rooftops gives it the appearance of a village in France, frequently reinforced by the car radio picking up French stations as you trundle south towards the Bill. Over to the west is the beautiful edifice of St George’s church, one of the best preserved Georgian churches in the UK, glimpses of the sea that surrounds our island home roll in and out with the changes in topography, all knitted together by the patchwork of quarries, fields and pockets of woodland that quilt the island. Woodlands are not uncommon on the island, although it has often been referred to as ‘treeless’ by writers in the past. But nonetheless, there are numerous pockets to be found and wandered through, from the short and squatly dense brash of willow and thorns at the northern end of Penn Weares to the tall and graceful ashes, sweet chestnuts and alders above Church Ope, they do exist and can be freely accessed. One such wood is a favourite of mine, the intriguingly named France Quarry. The origin of the name is uncertain but it is recorded in 1841 as an area of
KIM BERLIN – A newcomer to the Rock
Hidden gem needs help to preserve
arable land named France, owned by a John Pearce, a common name for the island. Further back in history, in 1325, there was a farmer of coneys (rabbits – the banned word on Portland!) in this spot, one John Piers. His may have been a hereditary position on the Crown Farm still situated here, and it is possible that Piers may have been anglicised to Pearce.
Quarrying seems to have begun in the 1860s behind Crown Farm then expanded to include the area of France in the 1870s, subsequently being referred to as France Quarry. Quarrying continued until after WWII, but subsequently much of it was filled in and slowly began to return to nature, colonised by sycamore and ash at its southern end in amongst still visible quarry workings, and larger areas of bramble scrub with elder, hawthorn and the occasional
apple tree at the northern end behind Crown Farm, with pockets of calcareous grassland areas that have been designated as being of ‘county significance’ because of the axiophyte indicator species found there.
France Quarry is a little oasis of green behind the shops in Easton, accessed through the footpaths at Crown Farm, Foundry
Close, New Street and the Grove playing fields. It is so well hidden that I’ve witnessed people on social media, that have lived here several years, exclaim that they’ve neither heard of it nor been there! Nonetheless, it is still under threat. Recognised in the local plan as an ‘important local gap’ and wholly outside the development boundaries, twice in the recent past planning has been applied for to site housing here, both times defeated by local
opposition.
In July 2000
France Quarry was designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest of open mosaic habitat. Natural England have also identified it as part of the nationally designated ‘Green Infrastructure Network’. It is a mixture of former human endeavour taken over by nature, now providing an important home for much important plant and animal life. France Quarry is particularly noted for the butterfly populations it hosts.
I have mentioned that it has been at threat of development, but there are other threats as well. Buddleia and cotoneaster are alien species that are in danger of dominating the site, so to combat this and reopen the important areas of grasslands, conservation work has begun with volunteers from the Portland Association and EUCAN CICs beginning work on cutting back the undesirable species and restoring the rare calcareous grasslands that are under threat.
Volunteers are most welcome and further details can be found on the Portland Association and Portland Biodiversity group pages on Facebook.
(With thanks to Steve Christmas for the background information).
Make a note to book a wildlife-filled boat trip in spring
Review: Dorset Wildlife Trust Fleet Explorer Boat Trips
Would I like to explore the delights of the Fleet with a knowledgeable guide to show me its delights? Amy Hogben from the Dorset Wildlife Trust had sent me this kind and irresistible invitation. It soon became clear on meeting Amy that she had a passion for wildlife and the Fleet in particular. The trust had been very active in its conservation work throughout Dorset with an army of devoted volunteers to help carry out this important work.
But I was here to enjoy the delights of an hour out on the
Fleet Explorer for a trip up the Fleet from its mooring at Ferrybridge. My expert guide and boatman for the afternoon was Roger Moody, who gave a wonderful, guided tour though the history and geology of this magical place.
Just over eight miles long, the Fleet Lagoon Marine Protected Area is a great shelter and feeding area for wildlife. It also gives protection to plant life including seagrasses. These are all monitored by the Dorset Wildlife Trust as part of its important work in the area.
The lagoon is thought to have been formed some 5,000 to 7,000
years ago and has SSSI status and deemed an area of outstanding natural beauty. My trip from Ferrybridge at the Portland Harbour end was simply wonderful as Roger brought it all to life with a running commentary on the wildlife, flora and fauna. The waters are very shallow with an average depth of just three feet with a seabed of mud, sand and stone. The Fleet is saline for most of its length and experiences four tides a day. During storms the seawater can be pushed through the beach causing ravines or gullies known as canns. We edged our way past the commercial oyster beds, the
Army Marine Camp and The Narrows which is only 65 metres wide at this point. Roger was happy to answer any questions, and many were put to him. “What I don’t know, I can always find out!” he said.
The Fleet Explorer sails during spring and summer from Wednesday to Sunday and trips last around an hour. The trust charges just £10 for adults, £8 for children with under 3s going free. For more information, call the Fine Foundation Wild Chesil Centre on 01305 206191. I can assure you of a wonderful experience!
Bob Holman
Have you noticed fewer butterflies or bees this year? More pollution affecting insects, fish, birds, and reptiles? If so, you are not alone. Dorset’s wildlife is in crisis. The latest statistics make for grim reading. Globally, we are facing the largest ecological crisis in history.
Nationally, the State of Nature report highlights that nearly one in six species is now at risk of extinction. Dorset is no exception, with one in 40 species already extinct. Dorset Wildlife Trust manages 42 nature reserves across the county. Steve Masters, the reserves ecological manager, underlined their commitment to protecting these critical habitats: “We ensure our nature reserves are in the best possible condition to drive nature recovery. My team, including many dedicated volunteers, work tirelessly to create, connect, and expand reserve networks to support wildlife. While we are making progress, there is still much more to do.”
Dorset’s nature reserves host not only common species but also some of the rarest. For instance, the silver-spotted skipper butterfly is found only on the chalk downland of southern England, and in Dorset, it is only found at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Fontmell Down nature reserve near Shaftesbury. Without this carefully maintained habitat, the species would no longer exist in the county.
FLIGHT OF FANCY: A barn owl in full flight
Picture: DANNY GREEN
Below: A sleeping dormouse in a nest box and, right, a silverspotted skipper
Pictures: TERRY WHITAKER/ KEN DOLBEAR
Down to earth
Dorset’s wildife in crisis, but YOU can help save it
The sand lizard, which has become extremely rare due to the loss of its sandy habitats, is another species benefiting from Dorset Wildlife Trust’s conservation efforts. Reintroduction programmes have established new populations on the Dorset Heaths, with ongoing work on Sandbanks dunes to support the species. Additionally, red squirrels, nearly extinct across southern England due to
competition from grey squirrels, thrive on Brownsea Island.
Here, Dorset Wildlife Trust, in partnership with the National Trust, manages the habitat to ensure the survival of over 200 red squirrels. Even with the generosity of volunteers giving their time, it costs over £2,000 a day—more than £800,000 annually—to manage these reserves. To ensure these efforts continue, Dorset Wildlife
Trust has launched the Nature Reserves Fund. This ongoing fund will help maintain over 1,950 hectares of vital habitat, the equivalent of 2,700 football pitches in top condition.
By donating to the Nature Reserves Fund, you will contribute to the ambitious plan for nature’s recovery in Dorset.
Learn more and make a donation at dorsetwildlife trust.org.uk/Nature Reserves2024
Down to earth
Always look on the brighter side of life
PAGAN VIEWS with JO BELASCO BA Hons History of Architecture and Design
Come mid-June my expartner would always say: “The days are getting shorter now.”
That was one discombobulating downer! The flip side is that he also stressed that in January the light is flooding back faster and faster. We tested it last January, noting how pitch dark it was picking my son up from work at 5pm at the start and by the end of January it was light at 5pm. To be clear, I am not claiming it was a dazzling, angelic quality of light but the dark was gone. This understanding helped me make sense of Imbolc,
which is the pagan celebration at the start of February. The strange word itself means, “in the belly of the mother” –maybe referring to the fact that most of the sheep were pregnant at this point in the year but more widely perceived as the whole world is pregnant with life and spring is coming.
Pregnant ewes is just not really something I feel is relatable to most 21st century humans. And the whole world pregnant
JOHN WRIGHT is a naturalist and forager who lives in rural West Dorset. He has written eight books, four of which were for River Cottage. He wrote the award-winning Forager’s Calendar and in 2021 his Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries was published.
Mistletoe for West Dorset Magazine
It is time to at least think about adorning our houses with garish junk for the Christmas celebrations.
I have no problem with this stuff, loving it as much as any six-year-old, but more natural decorations are often closer to our hearts. One such is Mistletoe. I will
with life at the start of February? No, I do not feel that at all, not like our ancestors must have. However, we do, if we are made aware of it, feel streaming returning light and can rejoice in that. When Roman Christianity laid their ideas on the top of Imbolc it was renamed the Celebration of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And there was I thinking that “Imbolc” was a mouthful! There was a telling shift in meaning. This
“purification” marks the passage of 39 days from when Mary gave birth to Jesus to when the church at that time considered that a mother was “pure” enough to enter a holy place again.
How different the emphasis is here.The celebration of the purification of Blessed Virgin Mary is all about childbirth and the 39 days afterwards being unclean – the process of birth and the early days of motherhood being no less than dirty. Whereas, the Pagan version revels in, not a miracle of a Virgin birth but simply the miracle of pregnancy and birth which in the farming cyclical calendar began at this time of year. Ah, well, let’s get back to safer ground. We really only have November and December when it is seriously dark. Remember that all through January the light is rushing back to us.
Looking forward to a kiss with
not relate, and do not much care about, why and how mistletoe has acquired its seasonal role, happy enough to receive a (moderately) chaste kiss from that nice Mrs Smith across the road without pondering her historico-cultural motivations. More interesting, is the plant itself. Mistletoe, Viscum album, is found mostly south of Sheffield and has a decidedly patchy distribution. West Dorset, for example, boasts very
few plants, while East Dorset and Somerset have numerous records. It has no relatives in Britain, being our sole representative of the botanical order Santalales. Famously, it is a shrub that parasitises trees. In Britain, over forty host tree species have been identified. Apple is perhaps the most familiar, but there are also willows, maples, plums and cherries etc., Rowan, hawthorns, poplars, spruces, pines and many more.
Taxonomists, never people to leave
WINTER DRAWS ON: But don’t worry, it’ll get brighter
Sally Cooke lives in Tolpuddle with her husband, two grown-up sons and spotty rescue dog. She loves to photograph and write about the everyday wildlife she sees in her garden and on her daily dog walks. You can follow Sally on Instagram at Sparrows in a Puddle.
A spectacular splash of speeding colour
Once a week I take some sarnies and a flask and eat my lunch slowly and quietly on a favourite bench by the river.
In summer, a procession of cygnets will glide by, escorted proudly by their parents, damselflies will flit over the gently flowing water and swallows will be flying overhead. But at this time of year the river is high, fastflowing and brown, the cygnets have grown, the next generation of damselflies is developing in the water and the swallows have flown to Africa. But, even on a cold November day there is something that I’m just as likely to see as in July, and that is the spectacularly coloured and unmistakeable kingfisher. When I first saw a kingfisher I was surprised
by how small it was. It’s only slightly bigger than a
sitting incredibly still, watching the water beneath. When it spots a fish it dives straight down into the water at speeds of up to 25mph to catch it.
robin, but with its large head and long beak it’s nearly twice as heavy. It has a bright, almost iridescent turquoise-blue back and a coppery orange breast and it’s always a thrill to see one as it flies fast and low over the river. If I’m lucky I might even see one perched on a branch near the riverbank,
The kingfisher’s beak is the ideal shape to be aerodynamic and enter the water with hardly a splash. In fact, it’s so efficient it inspired the redesign of the nose of the famous high-speed Japanese ‘bullet trains’. By mimicking the kingfisher’s beak, the trains became faster and quieter and used less electricity.
Kingfishers are such special birds it’s not surprising that they feature in poetry and folklore from all over the world, often symbolising patience, resilience and prosperity. It’s well known that Noah sent the raven and then the dove out of the ark when the rain
stopped, but apparently he sent the kingfisher too.
The dull coloured kingfisher was thrilled to be able to fly high in the blue sky and it turned its feathers blue, then it felt the sun on its belly and it turned orange. However, it forgot to come back to the ark and now is ever remorseful as it looks at the water.
Welsh poet WH Davies wrote that ‘it was the rainbow gave thee birth, and left thee all her lovely hues’.
Like me, he also liked to sit in a ‘quiet place that’s green’ while he watched for kingfishers.
There is an old saying that only the righteous see them, I’m not sure that’s true but certainly you’re more likely to if, like the kingfisher on its perch, you wait patiently.
Mrs Smith under a notoriously voracious parasite
things alone, have split the species into three subspecies, each showing slightly overlapping host preferences. Mistletoe seeds are extremely sticky, and birds often wipe them away off on another tree, thus leaving the seed where it wants to be. Swallowed seeds are more randomly placed. The seed germinates and literally plumbs itself into the tree’s vascular system – the xylem and phloem vessels – with structures known as a ‘haustoria’. As any plumber would suggest, it is
likely that the host preference in the three subspecies is down to having the right ‘fitting’ (haustoria) for the job. Mistletoe is a hemi-parasite, taking some of its sustenance from the tree, with the rest coming from photosynthesis in its (own) leaves. This distinguishes it from the broomrapes that are straight-forward parasites with no leaves, and producing no chlorophyll for photosynthesis.
The most astonishing characteristic of Mistletoe is that the sugar-to-energy
power-houses of its cells, their mitochondria, barely work at all. No other organism is so critically disabled and how Mistletoe survives is a matter of much research.
The general direction of thought is that it has found another chemical pathway to turn sugars into energy. This is likely to be much less efficient, but the plant makes up for this by being a particularly and notoriously voracious parasite.
& Wellbeing
This may come as a shock to you...
As many of us struggle with joint aches and pains, a new type of treatment is quietly getting incredible results. It is called shockwave therapy, which is an evidence-based treatment that involves passing low or high energy sound waves into damaged tissues to increase blood flow and stimulate repair, thus reducing pain and allows your body to restart its own natural healing process. Shockwave therapy is clinically proven, recognised by top orthopaedic hospitals and used by high-profile professional sports bodies. Did you know shockwaves can be radial or focused? Focused shockwave devices deliver higher energy deeper into the body (up to 12.5cm)
offering treatments for a wider range of conditions to that of radial shockwaves. Radial devices treat larger areas and conditions closer to the surface of the skin, up to 3cm.
How can shockwave help me?
Shockwave therapy can help a number of conditions, including:
n tendinopathies, and insertional tendinopathies n carpal tunnel n medial tibial stress syndrome, n Bones - stress injuries, stress fractures - nonunions, n degenerative pathologies, -osteitis pubis, n osteoarthritis, n spinal facet joint pain, n coccydynia, n acute pain and flare-ups, n wound healing, n men’s health issues including erectile dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. At Move Clinic in
Poundbury, as well as osteopathy, Swedish and sports massage, we now offer both focused and radial shockwave therapy. Our practitioners will give patients the time, hands-on treatment, and exercise rehabilitation/advice that is appropriate to each patient. How many sessions are needed?
The amount of treatment sessions will vary dependant on the type of condition being treated. As a rule, twothree sessions are advised.
n To find out more or to book an appointment, please visit moveclinic.co.uk, or call 01305 591297.
n We’re offering 10% off all appointments via the West Dorset Magazine. See our voucher on the back page.
Grief
Bereavement
Relationship
Lifestyle
Before I met Dulcie I was living a life constantly riddled
At times fearing
Dulcie has given me the tools to see situations differently and more logically. Instead of Dreaming of how I would
I am now living
Call or email me to book your initial free discovery appointment
Dulcie James
Melina James is a holistic therapist, who runs sessions at Dorchester Yoga & Therapy Centre, Potting Shed Therapy Garden in Middlemarsh and Sherborne Therapy Rooms. See what she offers at existinghuman.com or call 07538 540563
In today’s fast-paced world, stress can build up quickly, impacting both mental and physical health. Whether it’s due to work pressures, personal commitments, or the noise of modern life, many of us can feel overwhelmed.
As a massage therapist and breathwork practitioner, I help clients regain balance and find relaxation. Here are three gentle ways to recharge your body and mind that you might consider incorporating into your routine.
n Breathwork can be a wonderful practice for calming the nervous system and easing anxiety. First thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, you might try this simple breath
BROADMAYNE WALKING IN DORSET
with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade
Start at the church, which is on the main road, the A352, and walk SW down it to the Black Dog. My grandfather used to drink there over a century ago and, at the end of the evening he would be assisted onto his trap and the pony would know the way back home to Poxwell while Granpy was asleep! Join the nearby bridleway heading south west for
Health & Wellbeing
Let me take care of your self-care
awareness exercise: Notice where you feel your breath— in your chest, torso, belly, or pelvis. Bring gentle curiosity to your breath and observe any changes as you shift your attention. Practicing this for just five minutes can help bring awareness to your body and set a calm tone for the day. If you’re interested in exploring breathwork further, guided sessions can offer valuable insights and techniques.
n Stress often shows up physically as tight muscles, headaches, or fatigue. While regular massage therapy is beneficial for releasing tension, you might also find that taking a few minutes each day to stretch can help. Consider rolling your shoulders, stretching your neck, or doing a brief selfmassage on your arms or legs. These small actions can promote relaxation and enhance your mood throughout the day.
n Self-care is an essential aspect of maintaining your well-being. It doesn’t have to be elaborate; perhaps set aside 15 minutes each evening for quiet time with herbal tea or a few pages of a good book. For a more immersive experience, exploring wellness treatments
about a mile, then west south west for another mile and north west for half a mile to join a road near some barrows. Turn right and follow the road east
north east for a quarter of a mile, then turn left, joining a bridleway that heads north then north east then turn right along another bridleway that heads east,
like massage or breathwork can be rejuvenating. I offer a Mind-Body Recharge Ritual that combines breathwork, energy healing, and massage to help you relax and reset. Establishing a consistent self-care routine can enhance your overall mental health and make it easier to cope with daily stressors. If you’re looking for ways to integrate self-care into your life, consider checking out my membership program, which offers support in setting aside dedicated time for yourself.
n Incorporating these simple practices into your daily routine can contribute positively to your well-being. I offer personalised massage and breathwork services tailored to your needs, and as a token of appreciation for readers, there’s a 20% discount available when you quote this article during booking. Visit existinghuman.com, email me at melina@existinghuman.com, or call 07538 540563.
weaving its way back towards the village, eventually meeting the A352. Cross the road and join the West Knighton road to join a bridleway on your right, meandering east for about half a mile and then loops right and heads south west past Fryer Mayne for half a mile to rejoin the A352. Turn right and it will take you north westwards back to the village. You’ll have walked a little more than seven miles.
HAIR OF THE DOG: Best visit after your seven-mile walk, or you may get lost!
I’m minded to back euthanasia bill with controls
We have not yet had time to unpick the detail of the new Government’s first budget. We will not know to what extend Labour is committed to fixing the problems left by the last administration, or simply continuing with business as usual. Instead, I thought I would address one of the major pieces of legislation due to come before Parliament very soon: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Commonly referred to as the Assisted Dying Bill. First, I think it is important to deal with the facts of what this legislation proposes as there is a lot of misinformation both in the
By EDWARD MORELLO MP for West Dorset
press and online.
As of today, the full text of the bill has not been published. Once it has there will be time set aside to debate the legislation in Parliament and propose amendments, before any vote takes place.
The merits or otherwise of what the bill actually says, and not the hyperbole that surrounds it, is what matters. What the MP proposing the bill has made very clear is that the change of law will only apply to adults who have a
terminal prognosis and have less than 12 months to live. They must also be cognitively healthy and therefore able to make an informed decision themselves.
It will not apply to people living with a disability, mental health condition, or long term/chronic pain, the elderly, or anything else. Only those with a terminal diagnosis, who have less than 12 months left to live, and are cognitively competent. Importantly, it will require the agreement of two doctors, and a judge before the patient’s decision can be agreed to.
The safeguarding mechanisms that the bill puts in place will, without doubt, influence how
MPs vote. No one will support a change in the law that risks anyone being forced or coerced into making a decision against their will. While I will keep an open mind until the details of bill are published, if it achieves the high level of safeguards I wish to see, then I am minded to support a change in the law. That said I strongly believe we should be focused on dramatically improving assisted living (or palliative care) so that people do not have to endure pain and suffering and can properly enjoy their final days with those they love and who love them.
